Worlds Apart
by Arjent Draconis
Summary: When seven 'creatures' from another world suddenly appear in Megakat City, a secret war between good and evil begins to rage in the city's shadows as new alliances begin to form: some to save thier home, others to destroy it!
1. Chapter 1

[This is a cross-over story between one of my favorite cartoons, SWAT Kats, and one of my favorite games which I used to play all the time in college, Werewolf: the Apocolypse (with some of the other World of Darkness stuff thrown in). All of the mentioned WoD characters are either characters I've played in the past, were 'made-up'on-the-spot', or are based on characters played by friends. Most of the mentioned SWAT Kat characters are form the cartoon itself, of which I have no affiliation. This fan-fic is rated "Mature" due to violence, gore, and sexual content (including rape and beastiality). Of course, anyone familair with the World of Darkness should expect that!]

**.**

There was no rain yet, but the wind was fierce and lightning split the sky. The battle had been inevitable, and would possibly be the one to determine who would keep the territory, and who would be driven out, if not outright killed. The warriors of Gaia were outnumbered by the Wyrm's minions, but their resolve was strong. They would not let these corrupt monstrosities destroy the land that had been their pack's home for three generations.

The Wyrm's creatures were strong, formed of a dark alliance. Ghouls, both human and animal, formori, and Black Spiral Dancers all had joined forces under the command of a strong Sabbat vampire against the Garou pack. But the Garou had allies as well.

Twin-Tree grappled with the twisted gray-furred Garou, but the dark beast was stronger than she. As a young ragabash, she didn't have the strength and size that the Dancer ahroun did. But she had another advantage. Help. A loud roar behind her caused the red-furred werewolf to drop quickly to the ground, narrowly avoiding the massive reptilian tail that swung over her head. The spikes on the end of the tail speared into the Dancer's chest as the full impact drove the beast off it's feet and flying through the air. The impact had killed it instantly. Twin-Tree got quickly back to her feet and looked over her shoulder at the large beast behind her.

"Thanks, Blackwater!"

The Mokole nodded her large head, her bright green and red crest feathers ruffled by the wind. Blackwater looked up at the sky. Another bright bolt of lightning split the sky. The clouds seem to churn and swirl. She didn't like this storm, something about it felt very wrong. Then something else caught her attention. She stood high, lifting her body up to full height, towering over the massive werewolves beneath her. That's when she saw the shape. The dragon roared out, her reptilian jaws forming the more comprehendible words thanks to the bird spirit's gift.

"It's Angelida! I see her!"

Daemon turned his head sharply at the dragon's words. She had spotted their true target, the leader of these tainted monsters.

"BackWater pack! Our prey has been found!"

The Garou howled out in fury and bloodlust, and began to fight with renewed strength towards their intended target. A sudden golden blur flew past the crinos wolves, cutting a bloody trail through the formori and ghouls.

The large chatro cat used her size and power to basically bull her way through the smaller opponents, leaving the Dancers for the Garou to deal with. She had tracked the vampire, Angelida, across half the continent. Let the dogs have their little war. She only wanted one thing. Vengeance! The blood-sucker was responsible for killing off her pride, and she would take her revenge for them.

Six years ago, Angelida had broken away from the Sabbat who had ruled her since her 're-birth'. She was young, naive, and head-strong. And reckless, even for a Sabbat. Having been a Hunter before her Embrace, she knew a good deal more about shifters than most other vampires. Yet, though she hunted werewolves and their kin, she knew next to nothing about vampires. When she chose to ally herself with 'Fallen' shifters, and leave the Sabbat, her choice did not go over well with those in power. Her destruction was ordered by the local Archbishop, and several Assamite Antitribue were sent for her, including her former lover. They all failed, ripped apart at the claws of her 'pets'. Except for Delex. Her lover she kept at her lair for quite a time, tortured and made to suffer for his 'betrayal' of her love.

But this jaguar was tenacious. And dangerous. It was more because of the so-called 'Hellcat' that she moved to Florida than it was to get away from the Sabbat. The Sabbat sect seemed happy to simply be rid of her, but the jaguar wouldn't let her be. Ange had found that a local pack of Gangrel had made an uneasy truce with the local werewolves. They were weaklings. She and her pets destroyed them easily and she fed on both their blood and their souls. Now she was stronger, and this time, she was ready for the cat.

The jaguar's ears flicked at the sound behind her. Massive clawed feet covered the swampy ground quickly. Blackwater was coming too. Fine. She'd take Blackwater's help over the dogs. A ghoul fired a barrage of bullets at her, but she simply ducked her head and continued her charge. They weren't silver, so she didn't care. Her long saber-fangs made short work of the ghoul as she passed. It was his master she wanted anyway. She couldn't see the leech, but she knew where it was. Glancing up, another flash of lightning illuminated the small black form circling overhead, trying to dodge the bullets as he pointed the way towards the vampire below him.

The pair of shifters finally passed the rear line of the enemy, and now there was only a short stretch of marshy ground between them and the leech. Angelida stood alone, clothed in her black kevlar body armor, the lion-skull helmet on her head with it's dark visor up, revealing her young-looking face, and those piercing golden-hazel eyes. The vampire smiled at the jaguar and the dragon, holding her machete in her right hand.

Blackwater slowed down. Something didn't seem right. The vampire was facing them alone? Even as strong as Angelida was, she couldn't hope to take on both a Balam and a Mokole! The chatro jaguar didn't seem to have noticed. She closed the distance fast. Blackwater suddenly yelled out to her friend.

"Sarita! Stop! I think it's a trap!"

Too late, her suspicion was confirmed. Sarita triggered one of the land mines as she ran by, and it exploded, throwing the jaguar high into the air. She landed in a heap, her fur singed and a large wound burned into her right rear flank. Thankfully, she was moving so fast that she had missed most of the damage. Still, she hurt, and she wasn't alone either. The air shimmered, and two dark-furred crinos Garou lept out at her. The first was small but quick, and he jumped onto her back, grabbing both of her ears in his sharp claws, jerking her head back. She was about to throw him off when the larger, and far stronger, werewolf slashed his claws against her throat, drawing three deep lines of blood that soaked into her golden fur. She glared hatefully at the beast in front of her. She knew the black & red wolf well. And he remembered her.

Stephen quickly jumped back away from the jaguar as a pair of large jaws snapped shut where his head had been. The dragon had caught up, somehow having avoided the mines. A cawing noise which resembled laughter could be heard above him and he glared skyward, his ears pinned back. 'Damn corax! Must have shown her where the mines were!' The small werewolf yelped out in surprise and jumped off the cat's back, running back towards his vampire master as the Mokole's claws slashed at him. Stephen snarled at the large beast. "Darian! Now!"

A black shadow lifted from the tall grass near where the vampire stood. The form towered over her, his black fur glistening from the water of the marsh where he as hidden. He held up the large gun,, the gun and his fur both dripping with fetid water, and fired at the dragon. Several bullets hit, since it was kinda hard to miss something twice the height of an elephant, and the feathered reptile roared out in pain. Stephen grinned darkly from his blood-colored muzzle. The gold bullets were a good investment.

The Backwater pack was still fighting their way towards their other allies, but the land mines had slowed them down. The corax didn't pay much attention to them, and had only told the dragon where the mines were. Still, he knew they could find their way through now that Blackwater had 'cut' the path. They pretty much had to travel in the large Mokole's footprints, not an easy task considering her stride-length. The bird also knew that the vampire was the greatest threat, and the jaguar and dragon were the most likely ones to stop her, since they knew her and had faced her before.

Another flash of lightning lit up the sky, and the clouds began to rapidly churn. The wind picked up even fiercer, buffeting the raven who could barely stay aloft in the gale, despite his being such an agile flyer. A swirling vortex appeared in the sky directly over the vampire and nearby shifters. The wind swirled, and created almost a vacuum. A powerful twisting force pulled the corax first up into the vortex, the raven screaming at the top of his avian lungs as he disappeared into the swirling clouds. Angelida, small and lithe, turned to run, but the force lifted her off her feet. The large werepanther dropped his gun and grabbed her, trying to hold her down and carry her to safety. The small werewolf however was lifted up, and pulled up into the vortex, making a sound that was half canine yelp and half human scream. The power of the vortex became stronger. Stephen and the panther, along with the vampire, were also pulled up.

The power grew, and the chatro Balam was lifted from the ground, but the dragon grabbed onto her with her powerful front arms, her claws digging into the cat's flesh in an attempt to hold her down. But the vortex seemed determined to take them in, and pulled both the half-ton cat, and the six-ton dragon, both up and into it.

Garou, Formori, and Ghouls alike stopped their fighting and stared at the warriors were pulled up onto the mass of swirling clouds. After the dragon was pulled through, another powerful blast of lightning, purple in color, shot out of the portal. It then vanished. Their master gone, the ghouls quickly turned and fled, followed quickly by the remaining formori and Dancers. The Backwater pack had held their territory, but at what cost? What had happened to the Corax, Mokole, and Balam? And what had also happened to the vampire? They wondered if they had seen the last of any of them, and some believed that the spirits, perhaps even the Wyrm itself, had seized them up into the Deep Umbra, or the darkest pits of Hell.

Twin-Tree looked up at where the vortex had been, her ears laid back.

"Daemon? What happened?"

The large speckled Garou shook his head as he also looked up.

"I don't know, cub. I just don't know."

Another wolf, a large gray hispo, stood beside his alpha and the cub. He growled low, speaking in their own lupine language.

"The Wyrm himself took them up, most likely to Malfeas."

Daemon turned and snarled at the Get.

"Stains-the-Tides, that's enough!"

The Get pins his ears and snarls back.

"What else could it have been? The Wyrm has taken it's draugr and her foraths back to Malfeas, along with those other fools! I say good riddance to them all!"

Twin-Tree spun around and glared at the Get, tears of both sorrow and rage in her eyes.

"Fool! They were our allies! So what if they weren't Garou? They were still warriors of the Great Mother!"

"That's enough! Both of you!"

The large Glass Walker philidox stepped in between his two pack-mates, pushing them aside with his massive clawed hands.

"We don't know what happened to the Wyrm-spawn or to our allies. We must cleanse this place of the foul taint, then return to the Caern. Hopefully Sees-The-Beyond will be able to tell us more of this strange occurance. Stains-The-Tides, you are dismissed. Go calm your rage and let us handle the cleansing."

He turned and looked back up to the sky where the vortex had taken their allies, as well as the Wyrm-spawn.

"Great Mother, protect our friends, wherever they may be."

**.**

The sky was clear in the late afternoon. It was about three hours until sunset. Chance Furlong and Jake Clawson were inside their auto garage, working on an old car that they wanted to get finished up by tomorrow. A sudden crack of thunder caused both kats to jerk their heads up. It was clear outside! No storms were in the weather forecast for the next three days. They both jumped up and ran to look outside. A thick blanket of clouds had formed over the southern half of the city, and the clouds were swirling, in a vortex. They watched as what appeared to be two large objects were dropped from the portal, and apparently landed at the other end of their salvage yard!

The larger kat stared in disbelief.

"What the heck was that?"

The smaller kat was also quite surprised at the sight.

"Got me, buddy. But it looks like one of the Pastmaster's time vortexes! And _something _came through it!"

"Yeah, and we better find out what! FAST!"

There was no time for them to change, so they grabbed the nearest weapons they had, concealed behind a hidden panel in the garage. Moving quickly through the salvage yard with their weapons, a laser gun for Chance and a smaller glove gun similar to the glovatrix for Jake, the two kats prepared themselves for whatever sort of creatures the Pastmaster had sent their way. But one thing bothered them. Why _here_? Was it an accident, or did the skeletal sorcerer actually _know _where they were? And if he did, could that mean he also knew _who _they were?


	2. Chapter 2

The two changers carefully got back up to their feet/paws/claws/whatever, and looked around. The large dragon ruffled her feathers as she observed their new surroundings.

"What the...? It looks like we're in a scrap yard?"

The chatro Balam managed to stand on her four paws, but was shaky and breathing heavily from her wounds. She growled low, her ears pinned. The Mokole curled her tail about herself, standing statue-still as she continued to look around them.

"Toto... I don't think we're in Kansas anymore!"

Sarita turned and snarled at the dragon, then reached out to touch her mind with her own.

_Quiet! We don't know where we are or what's happened to us. We don't even know where Sawgrass or the Unmaker's Killi are. This appears to be the monkey's lands, and there is a very strong smell of Rahjah here._

The large dragon lowered her head, her feathers flat against her body. She curled herself around the large scrap pile and laid her head on the ground. Suddenly, the jaguar jerked her head around, watching off to their right with her ears pricked. She opened her mouth and stuck out part of her tongue, flaring her nostrils in using the padaa. After a moment she snarled, baring the sharp teeth along with long canines.

The dragon turned her head to look in the same direction, whispering softly.

"What is it?"

_We've got company..._

**.**

The two kats moved quickly from one large pile of scrap to another, then knelt down. The larger kat held the laser gun ready.

"Okay, I _know _I heard a voice out here."

He glanced at his friend, then went back to scanning the yard.

"Yeah, so did I. But I don't see anything."

After a few moments of silence, they quickly and carefully moved forward again. Ducking behind the remains of an old Enforcer jet, they then heard a deep-throated growl from the other side of the same junk pile. Jake's eyes went wide.

"What was that?"

He spoke softly, barely a whisper, not wanting whatever had made the noise to hear him. Carefully, weapons ready, they made their way around the jet, and came face to face with a massive saber-fanged feline, it's golden fur covered with black spots and rosettes like a jaguar, standing only a few yards away. The beast was huge, easily five feet at the shoulder, and probably weighed at least half a ton. It was heavily built and they could see the muscles rippling beneath the glistening fur. The upper front fangs were over a foot in length, and the claws were long and sharp. It's ears were pinned back and it lashed it's three-foot tail, snarling at them viciously.

Chance glared at the feline and aimed his gun, glancing to his friend.

"Great. Another zombie saber-tooth?"

Jake shook his head, also aiming his weapon. He really wished they had the Turbokat's cement machine gun this time.

"I don't think so. This thing's bigger! And it doesn't look like a zombie either."

The feline didn't lunge, but took another two steps forward. Jake then instantly noticed that it was limping. It's front left leg seemed to be slightly deformed around the paw, and it had burns all over the right side of it's body.

"Chance, that thing's been hurt!"

"Good! That'll make this a little easier." He took aim and fired.

Even injured as she was, Sarita lept aside, avoiding the laser blast. She then lunged with amazing speed. Jake and Chance dove out of the way of the large feline, which landed in between them. She turned her attention instantly toward Chance, turning her back to Jake. Sarita slashed with the large claws on her left forepaw. It may have been slightly deformed, but it was still strong and the claws sharp! The tabby kat jumped back, narrowly avoiding the swipe, and fired again, this time the laser hitting the massive feline on her right shoulder. She howled out in pain but lunged forward again, and swiped the gun out of Chance's hand. She opened her jaws wide and Chance could see the muscles in the forelegs and shoulders tensing for a powerful lunge.

"Crud!"

"Chance! Look out!"

Jake was about to fire on the large saber-tooth when something grabbed him from behind. A huge reptilian tail coiled tightly around him and lifted him off the ground. He struggled, but had no chance to break free of the coils. The lower half of the tail was scaled like a snake, but he realized that the upper half had bright green and red feathers? Turning his head around, Jake found himself face to face with a massive feathered dinosaur! The creature had to be at almost fifty feet long and close to fifteen feet tall at the shoulder, the majority of it's body covered in bight green feathers tipped with scarlet. It had a large feathered crest on it's long, predatory head and a pair of curved horns. The dinosaur stood up on it's hind legs, looking first at him, then down at Chance and the saber-tooth. Then came the biggest surprise, it could talk!

"Okay, that's enough!"

Chance looked up sharply at the loud feminine voice, and stared at the large feathered dinosaur holding his best friend in the coils of it's tail. The end of the tail had several bony spikes on it but thankfully none of these were close to Jake. The saber-fanged jaguar also looked up, her ears pricked forward. Chance ignored the saber-tooth, now more concerned for his friend.

"Jake!"

The large reptile spoke again.

"I think what we have here is a _serious _misunderstanding. Sarita, would you please back off?"

The feline pinned her ears, and glared back at Chance, but she then backed up several feet.

"Thank you." The dragon then turned her attention back to Chance. "Now, as for you, I'm going to set your friend down, and you two are going to listen to what I have to say. Okay?"

Chance was still a bit stunned that the large creature could talk. But if it simply wanted to talk, and better yet, to put Jake down without causing any harm to either of them, that was certainly agreeable.

"Uh, yeah. No problem."

The dragon set the small kat back down and released her coils. Jake quickly jumped over the rest of the dragon's tail and ran to stand next to his friend. The dragon just looked at them calmly. The large spotted cat limped over to stand beside the dragon. As the jaguar moved around them, Jake could clearly see her wounds. She had been hit, pretty badly, on the right rear flank, and had apparently taken a lot of damage. It was mostly burns and almost appeared as if she had been hit with some sort of explosive. Despite the creature's speed and strength, not to mention bravado, it was clearly in pain.

The dragon lowered herself to a couch on the ground and coiled her tail about herself again.

"There. Now then, I'm sorry but you must excuse my friend. She tends to have a bit of a temper sometimes, and we were just in a _very _deadly battle with a powerful enemy not even ten minutes ago. A strange storm caused a swirling vortex in the sky and picked us up, then dropped us here, in what I can only assume is _not _our world."

The two kats looked at each other.

"Pastmaster!"

The dragon cocked her head to the side.

"You know what happened to us?"

Jake nodded.

"There's a sorcerer in our world who can create portals through time. Apparently he somehow created one to your world, and it pulled you here. But... what I'd like to know is... What _are _you?"

The dragon sighed.

"My name is Nakela Waterhawk, though I also go by the name of 'Blackwater'. This," she nodded to the jaguar," is Sarita, the 'Golden Hellcat'. We are both shapeshifters of different tribes, though we are allies even through our differences."

Chance was quite surprised at that one, as if a giant, talking, feathered dinosaur wasn't enough of a surprise.

"Shapeshifters?"

The dragon nodded.

"Yes. I will show you."

The two kats stared in disbelief as the dragon's form shrank, down to their size! She was very slender, built much like a lean she-kat, with dark bronze-ish, furless skin and raven-black hair. She wore a pair of old faded blue jeans, no shoes over her clawless five-toed feet, a simple black halter-top, and her furless face was delicate with deep brown eyes.

"What you see now is my Homid, or 'human' form. This is the form of my birth. We can all take this form, though the form you see Sarita in is the form of her birth. I am of the Mokole, the 'were-dragons' as some other Bete call us. Sarita is Bastet, a 'werecat'. We have another companion who was pulled through the vortex first, though we do not know what happened to him. He is a Corax, a 'wereraven'."

Jake seemed to take this all in stride.

"Okay, so you guys can take the form of... 'humans'... which I'm guessing is your world's version of us kats, as well as animals and...?"

"Some of us have three forms, some have four, and some have five. Nearly all of us are born as either humans or animals. A _few _of the Bete, mainly the wolves and the cats, can also be born as sterile and deformed hybrids, called 'metis'. Sarita is metis, though her deformity was luckily not nearly as bad as some others. Most metis are born in the forms they call 'crinos', their 'war-form'. Sarita is chatro, since both of her parents were of the feline breed.

Chance shook his head.

"Okay, I'm lost."

The 'human' smiled.

"It's okay, you actually seem to be taking this much better than the people of our world. Only a tiny handful of us are 'shifters'. Most humans, never even _know_. And that's the way we try to keep it."


	3. Chapter 3

The vortex opened and dropped the four 'creatures' onto the pavement, right in the middle of the street! It was the old industrial part of town, just south of the city itself, and there was almost no-body out right now. The sun was still in the sky and Angelida screamed out , pulling her visor quickly down over her face. The full kevlar body suit protected her from most of the sun's rays, but she still had to get to cover. That was no problem, as Darian quickly carried her out of the street and into the shadows of a nearby alley.

The large werepanther set her down, carefully looking her over. Her feline ears and tail, remnants of previous fits of rage, were mildly singed from the sun's rays.

"Ange? Are you alright, my dear?"

Despite the huge size of the werecat's clawed hands, he was very gentle with the smaller woman.

The Gangrel Antitribue growled and pushed him away.

"I'm fine! Let me be." Now in the shadows, she removed the helmet, made from the skull of a slain werelion several years ago. "Where the Hell are we?"

The black-furred Fallen Bageerah kneeled down beside her and looked around at the streets.

"I don't know. I do not recognize this place."

"Nor do I, but that's probably because this is no place _anyone _has ever been."

They both turned around at the harsh voice behind them. The crinos werewolf stepped out of the shadows further down the alley, now walking toward them.

Ange's feline ears went back in annoyance.

"What do you mean, 'no place anyone has ever been'?"

Stephen's own ears were pinned as he looked over the vampire and crouching Bageerah at the streets beyond.

"Just what I said. This _isn't _our world. This place seems to be controlled mainly by the Weaver, or a similar entity."

"WHAT?"

Just then a loud screeching sound caught their attention, and the trio looked out to the streets to see a car slamming on it's breaks, a large spotted form running across the road in front of it. The tiny crinos Dancer whined as he ran on all fours into the alley. He quickly ran up behind Ange, and curled up against the back of her legs, whimpering. The two larger were-beasts looked at the small metis in disgust. Even in crinos form, he was little bigger than a human, and completely pathetic. Though they attributed part of that to the fact that he had also been ghouled. Most shifters, particularly the 'pure' ones such as Darian and Stephen, were made sick by vampire blood and therefor could not be ghouled. The inbred, deformed metis Dancer obviously didn't have that issue. And apparently neither did the were-ravens, which would be a plus if they could ever get their claws on the Hellcat's spy.

Ange and Darian both turned their attention to the car, and the strange creature driving it. Ange narrowed her eyes as the car drove away.

"Strange... Human-sized, yet they appear similar to Bastet?"

Darian's tail lashed, his feline curiosity perked.

"This appears to be a very interesting place. I'm sure we can probably have a lot of _fun _here!"

Ange nodded slowly, a cold look in her hazel eyes.

"Perhaps... so long as these creatures can be fed upon in the same manor as humans..."

The werepanther turned his head sharply to regard at the woman. He had forgotten that she had to feed regularly on human blood. He also hoped that these creatures, whatever they were, could sustain her in the same way. Otherwise, he'd probably have to let her feed on his own blood each night. Of course, it's not like she'd even have to ask. Darian would do _anything _his vampiric lover wished of him, much to the dismay of her 'pet' Dancer.

At length, Ange looked around for some way out of the alley.

"Provided this world's not too different from our own, it should still be a few hours until sunset. I need to find a place to rest until then. Preferably the sewers, if we can find a nearby entrance. There seem to be a few decent abandoned buildings around here, but I'd rather check them out under the caress of night first. Chigger! Search this alley for a way down."

The Dancer looked up at her curiously, but a motion of her hand send him scurrying off deeper down the alley. Ange disliked that the creature was so small and weak compared to other werewolves, especially other Black Spiral Dancers, but he was very quick and was still quite vicious toward other creatures more his own size. It wasn't long before Chigger, named for the small red ticks that are extremely difficult to remove once they've burrowed into your flesh, came running back. He cowered and whined, a sign that he'd been unsuccessful. Ange sighed and looked back out to the street.

"It looks like that manhole cover there in the middle of the street is going to be our best bet. Gonna have to make a dash for it. Darian...?"

The Fallen Bageerah nodded then, looking around to make sure the coast was clear, ran quickly out into the street. With his huge clawed hands, he lifted the metal cover and peered down into the darkness.

"Looks Safe!"

Ange put her helmet back on, the visor lowered, then ran _fast _back out into the sunlight, jumping quickly down the hole into the blessed darkness. Chigger was right on her heel, followed soon by Darian, and finally Stephen. The werewolf pulled the cover closed again behind him. Both of the larger shifters changed forms in the confines of the tunnel, Darian to felis and Stephen to hispo. Stephen led the way through the shadows, Darian following at Angelida's side while Chigger trailed close behind.

After a short distance, the dark-furred wolf suddenly stopped in his tracks, growling low. The panther's ears went back and he also began to growl. Chigger moved to stand at Ange's side, opposite the panther, his ears laid back, his sharp fangs bared in a snarl.

A pair of glowing yellow eyes could be seen in the darkness ahead, and they heard a sinister laughter.

"It sssseemssss that the four of you have taken a wrong turn! I've never ssssseen creaturesssss like you before? What exsssactly are you?"

The three changers had their ears pinned, growling at the strange creature, but the vampire simply looked calmly at the pair of eyes, the tip of her tail twitching slowly. She placed a hand onto the heads of the two creatures standing at her sides.

"Now, now, boys. No need to get your fur in a mess." She then looked back up to the creature. "We are not from this world, apparently. I am Angelida, and these are my companions. We are shape-changers."

"Shapechangersss...? Assss in, you can alter your sssshhhhape?"

Ange smiled darkly, using her Presence as she worked to 'sweet-talk' the shadowed creature.

"Indeed. We each can take the form of animals, along with our normal shapes. Some of us have 'other' forms as well. Now then, why don't you tell me what _you _are?"

The creature laughed again darkly, then stepped forward, his reptilian form becoming more visible out of the shadows.

"My name issss Doctor Viper..."

Ange smiled darkly, narrowing her golden eyes at the serpent-creature.

**.**

The sound of choppers approaching caught the attention of the two kats and their 'guests'. Chance looked up as they approached.

"Uh oh. They must be coming to check out reports of the vortex. Best not to let the Enforcers find out about you guys."

The saber-toothed jaguar growled, it's strange noises sounding almost like a form of language. Nakela nodded to her companion then looked back to the kats.

"Assuming that these 'Enforcers' are your form of a police force or military, I'd certainly have to say you're right. We have always kept ourselves a secret, and even in this strange world, I think it's safer for everyone to keep it that way."

Jake also looked towards the choppers, then back to the woman and the large feline.

"Well, we'll keep your secret, if you can keep ours. Come on."

Nakela and Sarita looked at each other, but quickly followed the pair of kats through the salvage yard. They were too far away to reach the garage before the choppers got close enough to spot them. Instead, Jake and Chance led them to a huge stack of compressed scrap metal, and opened a large door hidden in the ground.

"Inside, quickly."

The jaguar pinned her ears, but she had an uncanny ability to sense when danger was near, and felt that they were safe, for now. She moved quickly, albeit stiffly, down into the tunnel, Nakela and the kats right behind her. Once they reached the end of the long tunnel, Nakela and Sarita looked around in surprise. They were in a large hangar, a black fighter jet near where they entered, with various other electronic equipment scattered along the walls. The Jaguar seemed to say something in her strange growling language. Whatever it was, the human seemed to agree. Nakela then turned to regard the kats.

"What is this place? And... what exactly do you two _do_?"

Jake and Chance glanced to each other, then looked back to the shape-changers. Jake's the one who answered.

"Like I said, we'll keep your secret, if you can keep ours. We used to be Enforcers until an accident that wasn't our fault caused us to get kicked off the force and made to work in this salvage yard. But we decided we weren't going to be grounded so easily. We found this old hangar and fixed it up, then build our own jet and weapons systems."

Chance then finished the explanation.

"The Enforcers don't know about any of this. We're known as the SWAT Kats, and we help keep Megakat City safe from the hard-core criminals that are too tough for the Enforcers to take care of themselves."

Nakela smiled, clearing accepting the answer.

"It seems that we have similar purposes then. Sarita and I, and the others of our kind, wage a secret war, hidden from the eyes of humanity, to keep our planet safe from the destructive forces of the Dissolver."

The larger kat nodded at that.

"So this 'Dissolver' is like, one of your world's super-criminals?"

The jaguar sighed and shook her head. Nakela also seemed a bit more depressed as she answered.

"If only it were so simple. The Dissolver, also known as Cahlash the Unmaker, or the Wyrm, is one of three powerful beings, immortals, who shaped our world. Gaia, the Earth Mother, created us. But the Triad, the Devisor, the Designer, and the Dissolver, are the forces of the world: birth, creation, and death. The Dissolver is the force of destruction. Death is a critical part of life, but he has gone mad and now seeks to destroy all of our Earth Mother in his insanity. Our battle is more than merely stopping simple criminals, now matter how strong they are, though that is a small stepping-stone to our goal. Rather, it's about saving the very existence of our world."

Jake and Chance both jumped at the sudden sound of banging nearby. Something was 'knocking' on the hatch that lead up to the garage! The werecat pricked her ears, listening. Nakela also looked in the direction. After a few moments, she smiled.

"Why that sneaky little sonava... It's Sawgrass!"

Jake looked sharply back at her.

"Sawgrass? Is that your other companion you mentioned? The were-raven?"

"Yes! And he won't stop that until he finds a way in."

Chance growled.

"Well we'd better find a way to stop him before he alerts someone else to this place!"

The burly kat ran over to the ladder and climbed up. As soon as he opened the hatch, a large black mass of feathers flew in, it's long wings hitting the kat as it pushed past.

"What the..! Hey!"

Chance fell backward as the bird pushed past him and fell onto his back on the cement floor. Nakela, Sarita, and Jake all winced at seeing the impact. Jake ran over to check on Chance.

"Are you okay, buddy?"

The larger kat growled as he stiffly got back up.

"Yeah, but I'm about ready to have barbequed raven for dinner!"

The raven flew over to Nakela and perched on her arm, making a sound that could only be described as laughing. The human glared at the bird.

"That was _uncalled _for, Sawgrass! These two are helping us. You need to be _nice_."

The bird made a sound similar to blowing a raspberry. The jaguar growled at the bird, which then repeated the sound to the large feline. Nakela smirked as the bird moved up her arm to perch on her shoulder.

"Please forgive Sawgrass. He can be quite the pest, but he's extremely useful."

Chance rubbed his sore back as he and Jake walked back over to the trio of creatures.

"Useful? How can that waste of feathers be useful?"

Nakela smiled.

"He's our spy. The Mother created all of the changing breeds for different reasons. We Mokole were the first, and are her memory. The wolves, arrogant as they may be, are her warriors, and are very good at their jobs. The cats are her eyes, secrets are their specialty. The ravens were the last of the Bete to be created, and the Mother made them to be her informants. They excel at ferreting out the truth in everything they can dig their beaks into, and making sure that information goes to those who need to know it. Specifically, those who can do something about it."

She smiled softly, seeing the sudden concerned expressions on the kat's faces.

"And don't worry. Even though there soon may not be very much in the City that he won't know about, your secret is still safe. Sarita and I are the only ones he will tell here. He does know the difference between spreading knowledge, and protecting it."

This suddenly seems to cause the bird to remember something, and he starts to speak, forming crude words.

"Sadie an co dropped down the hole! They gonna be looking for trouble!"

Nakela gasped, and Sarita's ears pinned back as she let out a fierce snarl. Chance and Jake both looked very confused at the bird's yammering. Chance crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the bird.

"What the heck did he say?"

Nakela shook her head sadly.

"He said that the vampire, Angelida, and her Fallen Bete are on this world. They have apparently taken refuge in the sewers and are planning to cause some _serious _trouble in your world, much like they had done in ours."


	4. Chapter 4

"Vampire?"

Jake and Chance had both always thought that such things only existed in myth and horror flicks. Then again, so did many of the other creatures they had encountered in the past several years. Mummys, aliens, giant bugs, a volcano demon... There seemed to be no end to the strangeness in Megakat City.

The human nodded slowly. The raven on her shoulder looked curiously at the kats, then flew off to look around the hanger, his avian curiosity seriously getting the better of him. Nakela looked at Sarita, who was now laying down, leaning slightly off her wounded side, then back to the pair of kats.

"Angelida Marie Mason used to be a werewolf hunter until she was Embraced, or turned. She may be small and lightly built, but it is deceptive. She is incredibly strong and agile. And worse, she is extremely charismatic and manipulative. Didn't do her much good among the group of Damned known as 'Sabbat', but she gained several followers among the Fallen Bete known as 'Black Spiral Dancers'. Evil, sadistic, and twisted, she is a powerful threat that Sarita and myself have fought against for many years."

"And now she's here, in Megakat City. This _can't _be good."

Jake shook his head. As if their own omegas weren't bad enough, now there was a powerful vampire and a small group of evil shape-changers from another world here.

"I wonder if she was the reason for that Portal. Maybe the Pastmaster brought her here intentionally, and you three got pulled in too."

Sarita cocked her head. At least it was _something _in this strange world that made a little sense. The big cat looked to Nakela and unspoken words seemed to pass between them. Nakela then turned back to Jake.

"If that's true, then perhaps this 'Pastmaster' could get us back home as well."

Sarita growled, apparently speaking in her own feline language again. Nakela translated.

"She says that first though, we need to stop Angelida. We need to find a way home, but we certainly can't leave that monster here to destroy your world either."

Chance certainly agreed with that notion.

"Okay, so if we do find this blood-sucker, how are we supposed to kill her? Somehow I get the feeling that a simple stake through the heart isn't going to cut it."

Nakela smiled slightly.

"Heh. No, it won't. And good luck even trying it. She's too strong and wears kevlar body-armor. No, she will be very difficult to defeat. Sarita and I could kill her with our claws if we could get close enough, but she's always managed to evade us, and it would still be a very difficult battle. She's a trained killer of shifters, and knows much about us. She sometimes wears a helmet made from the skull of a Simba, a were-lion, that she had managed to kill _on her own_. The Simba was nearly twice her height and several times her weight, larger and stronger than even Sarita."

Chance gaped at the comment.

"She's _that _strong?"

Nakela simply nodded slowly. Sawgrass had now finished his 'inspection' of the hangar and flew back to perch on the human's shoulder again. Jake looked at the three shape-changers.

"Well, first thing's first. I don't think you guys can stay down here the whole time. And I really think we should do something about Sarita's wounds. They look pretty bad. What happened anyway?"

Nakela looked at the jaguar with a soft sigh.

"Explosion. She tripped a land mine while trying to attack Angelida. The vampire had set a trap for us, using herself as bait."

Jake and Chance both winced. Jake slowly moved closer for a better look at the wounds.

"Land mine? And that's _all _the damage? Looks like she was very lucky. It could have been a lot worse."

The jaguar pinned her ears and lashed she short tail, but otherwise did not threaten the kat as he approached her. These were neither humans nor _dogs_, so she felt a little more comfortable around them, even though they weren't the same 'type' of feline she and her kin were.

Nakela looked at Sarita as she spoke again.

"We are very tough creatures, and can take a considerable amount of damage. This will be fully healed in a matter of days, or possibly sooner if we can get it cleaned up."

"Cleaned up how? It still looks pretty bad."

"We need to clean out the soot and any shrapnel. After that, Sarita can continue the healing process herself."

Jake sighed, then nodded.

"Alright. Let's see what we can do."

It took nearly half an hour of work, but Nakela, Chance, and Jake managed to mostly clean out the nasty burn wounds on the were-jaguar's body. Sarita laid down on her side, and even the raven had perched on her shoulder, picking out tiny pieces of shrapnel with is strong beak. The cat hissed in pain and lashed her tail, but she never actually moved her body other than small inadvertent jerks. Chance was amazed at how much she was able to endure, as he was certain that the wounds had to be extremely painful, and that their 'cleaning' it out had to hurt even worse. Eventually, Nakela seemed satisfied with the results. The burns were pretty bad, and the now exposed raw flesh oozed blood, but all the soot and debris had been cleaned away. Jake glanced to the human woman.

"You're pretty good. Have you had medical training?"

She nodded slowly, still looking over her companion.

"Yes. I used to volunteer for Florida Fish and Wildlife Services. I know more about treating animals than people, but considering I mostly work with other Bete, it works out well. Sarita's the same, she's also somewhat knowledgeable about treating wounds, though learned from a different source. She was born deep in the Amazon jungle, afterall, and grew up in the wild lands as a big cat."

This came as a bit of a surprise to the kats, who had originally believed all three of these intelligent creatures, even if they were part animal, had still spent their lives in civilization. To think that the jaguar had actually spent her youth as a wild animal deep in a jungle was difficult to grasp, even after everything else they have learned of these strange creatures. At length, the saber-toothed jaguar sat up, and then began to lick her side and flanks. That's when the biggest shock of all came. With each stroke of her tongue against the raw flesh, more and more of it began to heal! Within only a few minutes, the wounds had now sustained at least three weeks worth of healing!

Chance couldn't believe it.

"No way!"

Jake then looked at Nakela in astonishment.

"How did she do that?"

The human simply smiled.

"Magic. As I said, we are the chosen children of Gaia, the Earth Mother. She, and the spirits, have granted all of our kind various magical abilities, or Gifts. One of Sarita's is the ability to heal, either herself or others. It comes with a price of course, but so long as we pace ourselves, there is much we can accomplish when combining our Gifts with our own natural abilities. The rest of that wound will heal itself within a day or so."

Magic! They still were in shock at the incredible healing ability of the jaguar. Nakela seemed to enjoy their confusion. After a moment, when she was sure that Sarita had finished licking her wounds, she spoke to the cat.

"Now Hellcat, would you be so kind as to actually change forms for our gracious hosts? Since they obviously don't understand Kheuar, it's the least you could do to thank them."

The feline looked at Nakela and pinned her ears, a soft rumbling growl echoing from her throat, the earlier claw marks now gone as well.

Nakela smiled sweetly.

"Please?"

Another growl, but then the jaguar's form shifted, and she changed from a half-ton beast to a lean, lithe creature that looked remarkable like a she-kat! Just when Jake and Chance thought these creatures have given them the greatest shock, they were again proven wrong!

She was tall, about 6', and covered in lean muscles under a layer of extremely short spotted fur, with the same pattern as her jaguar coat. Her tattoos were now clearly seen beneath the short fur, their color a dark blackish-blue against her skin. A serpent coiled down her right arm, the tail at the top of her shoulder and the head on the back of her hand. She also had a crescent moon over her left eye, and various smaller tribal tattoos dotted her chest, sides and upper legs. Her eyes, an eerie shade of purplish-blue in the chatro form, were now a deep ocean blue. She also had short vestigial whiskers, a feline nose, sharp facial features, and even pointed feline-like ears and a long tail. Her thick mane of hair fell down to mid-back and was a dark auburn color with darker spots and rosettes similar to her coat/skin pattern. Her clothing was simple, only a small halter-top and skirt, short in front and long in back, both made of very thin black animal-hide leather. She was both exotically beautiful and eerily disconcerting at the same time.

Nakela gave a soft chuckle at seeing the kat's surprised reaction.

"Most Bastet in sokto form resemble humans with only faint traces of feline features. Sarita, perhaps for being a metis, is quite unique. Her sokto form is far more feline-like. Many believe it is her own form of 'deformity'. However, she is the only one of us able to take such a form. She has five shapes, whereas Sawgrass and I each have only three."

Jake shook his head, trying to regain his composure.

"Okay, another question..."

Nakela shrugged.

"Shoot."

"I get the fact that you guys can change forms, but how do you have clothing in some forms, and not others?"

Nakela smiled, but it was Sarita that answered, her voice surprisingly soft and gentle for someone also known as 'Hellcat'.

"It's because our clothes are 'dedicated' to us. We can bind things, such as clothing and weapons, spiritually to ourselves, so that they become part of us. And thusly, they can meld with out bodies when we change."

Chance was actually able to semi-comprehend that one.

"Weapons?"

Sarita nodded, then reached to her left hip. She with her clawed five-fingered hand, she seemed to grasp at her own flesh, but as she did, her skin shimmered slightly. She pulled her clenched hand away, and a machete materialized in her grip, right out of the flesh of her side! Chance's jaw dropped.

"Whoa! Now _that's _a nice trick!"


	5. Chapter 5

Ange looked around the lab calmly. The wolf and the panther stood at her sides, with the small crinos werewolf crouching behind her, looking around curiously with his long ears pricked.

"Very nice. You've got quite a set-up here."

"Yesssss... I've been able to create quite a few nicsssse creationsss here. Ssssseveral timesss I've tried to take over Megakat City, to turn that messss of metal and glassss into beautiful ssssswamp! But each time thossssse blasssted SSSSWAT Katssss have messssed up my plansssss!"

The vampire narrowed her hazel eyes, a wry smile on her lips.

"I see. I grew up at the edge of a swamp. A bayou. And I've always loved it. Huge cities like this one, they're unnatural. They should be razed to the ground so that the chaotic ways of nature can regain control."

At her sides, the powerfully built wolf and the lean panther both made strange sounds, almost as if they were laughing. They knew what the manipulative vampire _really_ meant. Viper however, grinned over his shoulder at the strange woman.

"Ah, a creature after my own heart. I would love to sssssee your own world if your viewsss ssssso match my own."

Angelida scowled.

"Unfortunately, there is a strong battle in my world. We have large cities, though I must admit that this one is _huge_, and we seek to spread darkness and corruption throughout those that live within them. Some of our tactics are very direct, but most are more discreet. We fight to get rid of the _filth _of civilization. But those blasted 'Gaians' try to stop us at every turn!"

"Oh that sssssoundssss far to familiar. Perhapsssss we _can _help each other here."

The dark smile returns to the vampire's lips.

"Indeed. I know not of how we could return to our world, but this place seems as if it would be a quite _interesting _place to live for a while until we do. First off though, we must hunt soon. I burned a lot of blood in the battle before coming here and need to feed."

"Blood? Feed?"

This confused the kat-snake. She had told him that all four of them were shape-changers. This was the first mention of blood. He assumed that there were simple carnivores.

Ange's smile grew darker.

"Did I forget to mention I'm a vampire?"

Viper paled at the cold expression on the woman's face. He suddenly feared as if he'd just led the means of his own death right into his home! Angelida saw his fearful look and laughed.

"Oh don't worry. I don't feed upon my allies unless I must. And I don't _have _to kill to feed either. Believe me, the sensation is actually _quite _enjoyable, right ShadowClaw?"

She smiled down to the panther, rubbing his ear gently. The big cat purred quite loudly. She then turned her attention back to Viper.

"Besides, reptiles aren't nearly as filling as humans, or even other mammals. No offence, of course. I need to return to the city once the night grows a bit deeper, and find out exactly what these kats taste like."

The large wolf licked it's chops at this comment. He was ready to find out what they tasted like too!

Viper gave a soft, wicked laugh.

"Well, that'ssss a bit of a relief. And no offensssse taken, my dear. Pleasssse, feel free to reek any havoc you wish! Only sssso long assss _nobody _can trasssse you back here when you're done, of courssssse."

"Of course."

The small werewolf then notices something, and crawls over to a nearby table on all fours. He sniffs under the table, then yelps and jumps back at the sudden loud hiss as the venomous snake strikes at him. Ange turns her head sharply.

"Chigger! What are you doing?"

The werewolf whines loudly and runs back behind her.

Dr Viper laughs.

"Better watch out for my petssss. They don't really care much for vissitorssssss."

"Is that so?"

Ignoring the cowering beast behind her, Ange walks over to the snake, which, she notes, appears to be a cottonmouth. The vampire kneels down and holds a hand out towards the snake. It hisses, it's mouth open to reveal the white coloration and the long fangs. It then closes it's mouth and sticks it's forked lounge out, tasting the air. Ange doesn't move. After another few moments, the snake slithers onto her hand and coils itself up her arm. She stands back up, rubbing the snake's head gently with her other hand.

Viper's jaw drops.

"How did you do that?"

She smiles darkly at him.

"Oh, I've always had a _thing _for serpents. And they've always seemed to like me. Even before I was Embraced, I could handle venomous snakes with the ease that other people could handle their pet dog. I've got eighteen of them right now back home. Mostly cobras and rattlers, but a few large constrictors as well."

"I sssssee... Well, it lookssss like thisss aliansssse may work after all!"

**.**

The night was still young, a bit too early to hunt yet. Having left her kevlar body suit and combat boots back at the lab, and having ordered the two wolves to stay as well, Angelida went for a 'walk' through the swamp with her panther. Darian, still in his feline form, jumped lightly along the thick roots and branches above the fetid waters along with his vampiric lover. Even barefoot, Ange had no problem with the thick vegetation. After a while, once they were well out of the sight of the lab, she found a small patch of dry ground raised up a little from the water. The vampire looked around at the gloomy landscape, her feline tail twitching.

"Ah... this place looks so much like my home back in Louisiana."

The panther rubbed against her side, purring loudly. Ange reached down a hand and rubbed the cat's ears. He purred louder, and rubbed his body against her, circling her as he did so. Once he came back around to her back, he lightly gripped the back of her short cut-offs in his jaws and gave a light tug. Ange reached a hand back and lightly batted his nose away.

"Alright, my pet."

She gripped the bottom of her small shirt and pulled it up level with her sports-bra, now gripping both in her hands. She then casually pulled them both over her head and tossed them onto the ground. The big cat again gripped the back of her shorts in his jaws, tugging. Again she batted him away with a hand, then unbuttoned and unzipped the denim cut-offs, pulling off both the shorts and her thong at the same time. The purring got even louder as the cat began to lick her back. The vampire kneeled down on the ground. Now on her knees, she shivered with pleasure as the panther's rough tongue continued to lick up her back, sides, and shoulders.

After a few moments, the panther leaned up against her shoulders, using his weight and strength to push her down onto her hands and knees and he moved forward, putting his chest against her back to hold her down. Gently, the cat ran his fangs against her neck, caressing more than biting. Another shiver of pleasure ran over the female vampire's body.

"Yes, my pet. You know what to do..."

The cat entered her, and Ange moaned loudly as the large animal pushed hard against her, his slick fur and the powerful muscles beneath them pressing against her body. The panther was strong, and could have easily killed a human with the power of his thrusts, but to the vampire the sensation was pure ecstasy. The panther growled loudly, his sharp teeth leaving small marks in the vampire's neck which soon healed back over. Their unnatural joining lasted for nearly an hour, the inhuman stamina keeping them both going far longer than any normal human or cat possibly could with such force used. The stillness of the swamp was broken by unnatural animalistic yowls and screams that sent birds flying away from their nocturnal perches and alligators splashing away in the water.

When the panther finally, reluctantly, withdrew from his partner, the vampire stood back up and retrieved her clothing, putting them back on casually. Even so, her skin was slick with a wet reddish film. Vampires rarely sweat, since they cannot produce the salty fluid that they could when they lived. The sweat was thin blood, and it left a red shine on her pale skin, as well as on the fur of the cat's chest and thighs. Ignoring the possible dangers of alligators and venomous snakes, creatures she was so used to dealing with in her own bayou home, Ange walked down to the water's edge and splashed the fetid liquid over her body to rinse off the red 'sweat'.

Darian sat on his haunches and began to groom, licking the blood off, though he had to spit it out since he couldn't swallow the liquid, much to his own dissatisfaction. Once they had decided they were both clean enough, they turned and made their way back through the swamp to Dr. Viper's lab. Now it was time to hunt.


	6. Chapter 6

Now that Sarita was mostly healed, and had shifted to a more kat-like form, the group had gone upstairs out of the hanger, and to the apartment above the garage. Several hours had now passed and things had calmed down outside. The Enforcers had given up their search for the reported vortex, and the 'creatures' that a few kats had claimed to have seen come from them.

Sarita folded her arms as she looked out the window into the night. Seline, or at least this world's version of her, was low in the sky, only a sliver of light. Nakela stood nearby, watching her friend, the raven perched on her shoulder. At length, Sarita finally spoke.

"Stephen Devours-the-Unborn and Darian ShadowClaw are just as at home in the city as in the wilds. The thing about Mason though, is that she prefers dense forest and wetlands. Swamps and bogs, the thicker the better."

Chance and Jake looked at each other, both coming to the same conclusion at the same time.

"Megakat Swamp!"

Sarita spun around quickly.

"There's a swamp near here?"

Nakela also looked over at them in surprise. The guys nodded, Chance answering her question.

"Yeah, a very large one. Megakat Swamp is to the south on the other side of the bay. It's very dense and very dangerous. We've been there a few times unfortunately for various reasons. Dr. Viper also lives there someone as well, though we've never been able to find his secret lab."

The definitely caught the shifters' attention. The three looked at each other in shock, then Sarita turned back to Chance.

"Doctor _Viper_?"

"Yeah. He used to be a bio-geneticist until his own greed got the best of him. Now he's a mutated snake-kat who creates hideous plantimals and is always trying to turn Megakat City into one big swamp."

Sarita visibly paled.

"That's where she is... it _has _to be!"

Jake was a bit more skeptical. They'd only been in this world for about six hours at most.

"How can you be sure?"

The werecat shook her head, her dark red hair falling down to partially cover her face. She spoke softly now.

"Angelida Mason was born in southern Louisiana. She grew up playing in the swampy bayous. She's got a strong affinity for snakes, and has numerous ghouled ones. Any serpent could potentially be one of her spies, or assassins. If she runs into this 'Viper', she'll have him working for her in no time. I'm sure she would have already had Stephen and Darian locate this swamp for her. If so, I'm _certain _she's already there. "

"So, are you going to go after her there?"

Both of the female shifters answered at the same time.

"No."

Sarita then continued.

"Despite the fact that I was born and raised in the Amazonian rainforest, and that Nakela grew up just outside the Everglades, Mason is just as at home in thick swampland as we are. Perhaps even moreso due to the thickness and dangers of the Louisiana bayous. We chased her once to Mississippi, where they also have some dense swamps. She took refuge in them. We ran across a local pack of dogs."

Nakela interrupted for a moment here.

"_Dogs_ meaning Garou. Werewolves."

The sokto werecat glanced over to the human, then turned to look back out the window.

"Anyway, we told them of Mason, and they decided they were going into the swamp after her. Tried to warn them, but the stupid mutts are so self-centered in their egotistical superiority kick that they completely ignored us, believing that they knew their own terrain well enough that one vampire would be a piece of cake. Morons. There's a fine line between bravery and stupidity. Eight dogs went into the swamp. Three came out. Of them, one was missing an arm, and another has a permanent limp. A few days later, the mutilated remains of the heads were found at the outskirts of the swamp, stuck on pikes."

Nakela shook her head.

"We had a Hell of a time cleaning _that _one up. We're supposed to _not _let the mortal world know about our kind or the war we fight, but the vampire doesn't care too much about that."

Sarita spoke up again.

"The Sabbat usually don't. That's part of the reason that they're so much more dangerous than other blood-suckers."

Jake and Chance now looked at each other, a worried expression on _their _faces. If this vampire was as powerful and dangerous as the shifters claimed her to be, and if she does end up teaming up with Viper, then Megakat City was going to be in _big _trouble!

**.**

The four animals ran swiftly through the dense swamp back toward the city. Stephen's lupine form was very burly, making him look more like a furry pit-bull cross than a true wolf, while the smaller Chigger looked like a mangy mongrel with his scruffy spotted coat and mohawk-like mane. Running at the head of the pack was the dark brown/black panther form of the vampire. Most Gangrel turn into wolves, but Ange had such extreme control of her animalistic side that she could alter her wolf form to that of a large dark-furred cat, about the size of a small puma. The creatures ran quickly, and it didn't take them long to reach the outskirts of the city. Making their way down dark alleys they headed for an area of more run-down apartment buildings. It didn't take long to find it. It was what many would consider a 'bad neighborhood', exactly what the pack was looking for.

The two panthers kept to the shadows while the 'dogs' prowled more out in the open. They stayed loose, spreading out in their hunt. It wasn't long before a distant sound caught their attention. A group of three younger kats, late teens to early twenties in age, could be spotted a few blocks away. From their clothing and mannerisms, the pack guessed there were probably in a gang. Perfect targets for a first hunt. Ange and Darian headed off down an alley, planning to circle around, while Stephen and Chigger slowly made their way forward down the sidewalks, one on each side of the street. The wolves stayed close to the buildings, keeping themselves partially shadowed.

One of the kats caught sight of Stephen, who was on the same side of the street that they were.

"Hey! What the heck is that thing?"

The other two looked over at the shadowy shape moving slowly toward them.

"Heh. Looks like some idiot let their pet get loose."

"Yeah, well, maybe it would make some good target practice!"

The youths laughed as the oldest one pulled out his hand-gun and pointed it at Stephen. The wolf continued to move slowly toward them. Before he could fire though, an eerie sound echoed from across the street. Looking toward the sound, the kats saw a strange canine standing directly across from them, the light from the street lamps reflecting an eerie green glow in it's eyes. The creature continued it's 'bark', which sounded more like the chilling laughing-like call of a hyena.

"Woah! Where did _that _one come from?"

The one with the gun turned quickly, now aiming at Chigger. A dark feminine laughter then sounded a short distance behind the kats.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

They turned, and saw a figure standing in the shadows of a nearby alley. The figure was definitely female, though clad in what appeared to be a black body suit of some type, with heavy combat boots. The long tail twitched lightly and her ears were pricked casually forward. They couldn't see her face.

"Oh really? And why not?"

They were nervous of the two canines, and cautious of the 'she-kat'."

"Because I said so." Her eyes suddenly took on a red glow in the darkness. The two canines, now the same distance away, suddenly ran forward, both shifting up to Hispo. The kats yelled out in fear and began to run from the monsters, the one firing on Chigger, who completely ignored the hit as he kept coming. They were now running straight toward Angelida. Stephen and Chigger slowed their pursuit, now chasing the kats. The one fired off three more rounds, then gave up at seeing it wasn't doing any damage. In front of them, the she-kat had vanished.

They kept running, until they passed another alley. That's when the nine-foot tall feline stepped out in front of them! The werepanther was huge and well muscled, with slick fur black as midnight. He towered over the kats, who screamed out in panic as they skidded to a stop. They were now trapped between the werepanther and the two hispo wolves. Angelida laughed again and the kats turned, just in time to see the one nearest the wall of the building get jerked off his feet, a gloved hand around his throat.

Her eyes had a fierce red glow and her fangs were long. They stared in shock, now seeing that her shadowed face was very wrong. Furless, and more flat than what it should be, though still attractive. She was small in stature, only a teenager, but she was incredibly strong. She threw the kat hard against the wall. The other two kats turned and tried to run across the street, but the werepanther grabbed one of them by the back of his shirt, throwing him against the wall as well. He slumped down, the air knocked from his lungs, beside his gasping companion. The first kat's throat was partially crushed from the vampire's grip.

The third kat made it half-way across the empty street when the vampire, with unnatural speed, ran forward to stand in front of him. He almost crashed into her, but her fist stopped him, slamming him hard in the gut. He fell onto his back on the pavement. It felt as if he'd been hit by a car! The next moment, she grabbed the front of his shirt and jerked him up, snarling at him with those hellfire eyes. The kat was filed with pure terror, and the vampire relished it. She then jerked him forward, and sank her fangs deep within his neck, ripping open his throat. Ange didn't even bother with the Kiss, she wanted pain and terror rather than a compliant food-source. And she never planned on letting any of them live.

The two kats against the wall were forced to watch as the vampire tore their friend's throat open, spilling his blood onto the street. She drank greedily until the body fell limp in her grasp, then she tossed him back toward the rest of the group. The corpse landed beside the two werewolves. Chigger was ready to tear into it, but the larger and stronger Stephen slashed at him with his fangs. Chigger yelped and backed up several steps, his tail tucked, as the higher-ranking wolf tore into the carcase.

In a panic, the less injured of the two remaining kats tried to get up and run again, only to be grabbed back up by the werepanther.

"You're next..."

The kat stared at the huge beast's snarling face, then turned to see the vampire walking casually toward him, her face smeared with his friend's blood. Darian threw the kat onto the ground at Ange's feet, and she kneeled down, sinking her fangs into the back of his neck. He screamed as she ripped apart his flesh, spilling even more blood. Ange again drank without mercy, though not as much. Now she was full, so the kat was allowed to live, just long enough to see the hungry Chigger stalking toward him. The last thing he saw in his blurry vision was the spotted hyena-like werewolf's jaws lunging toward his face.

The final kat was too wounded to move. He could only watch helplessly as his friends were torn apart by the vampire and the wolves. Ange then turned to face him, smiling darkly at the look of pure terror on the young kat's face. He was the youngest of the three, only fifteen years old. He was told that joining his older brother's gang would ensure his safety on these mean streets. He never dreamed his life would end like _this_!

Darian shifted down to chatro, his form now being that of a massive pure black saber-tooth. He turned toward the final kat, and opened his jaws wide. The kat was wide-eyed in shock and terror as the werepanther tore into his gut, and began to literally eat him alive...


	7. Chapter 7

The guys had offered the shifters one of their rooms, but the shape-changers declined, explaining that they were actually very used to simply sleeping outside in the elements. Nakela slept on the couch while the restless Sarita took her feline form of a golden-furred jaguar and headed out into the night. She was highly adept at jumping and climbing so the high fence surrounding the salvage yard was little enough trouble for her. Sawgrass went with her, flying high over the buildings searching for any sign of the vampire and her pack.

Traveling through the dark alleys and across shadowed rooftops, Sarita noticed that the city was far larger than any she had ever encountered before. It was a very long distance to downtown, and she doubted that Angelida would go that far. She knew that the leech was fond of the swamps, and so would probably stay near the southern part of the city. More than two hours had passed as the jaguar traveled the darker parts of the city, before a loud cawing drew her attention to the sky. The raven, Sawgrass, flew swiftly toward her. The cat watched the bird approach, her ears forward and tail lashing. She knew he had found something.

The raven landed on the closed lid of a trash can next to the cat.

"They hunt! Three of these 'kats' dead! Slaughtered and torn apart!"

_Where?_

"Follow!"

The bird flew off again, and the jaguar ran swiftly after it. It was a more run-down part of town and the streets were virtually empty, so she didn't worry too much about keeping to the shadows as she chased after the fast-flying raven. At length the bird perched on the top of a street lamp. Sarita could already smell the blood in the air. As she approached, she saw the evidence of the hunt. Three mutilated corpses lay within a few feet of each other on the sidewalk. They had been devoured beyond any possible recognition.

Sarita closed her eyes, her whiskers twitching. She opened her jaws and lifted her upper lip in padaa. She didn't even need to sense for the Unmaker's presence. What she wanted to know, was how many of them it was. The stench was unmistakable. All four had been here. That meant that Mason had her fill of blood, and would now be quite powerful.

Sawgrass' sudden loud cawing caught Sarita's attention. The bird dove at her, circling around the cat and cawing loudly. Without hesitation, Sarita turned and ran, _fast_. Not fast enough. She had barely made it two blocks when a heavy form tackled her. The jaguar spun around, shifting instantly to her massive crinos form. Around her waist was a skirt of red cloth trimmed in bright gold, blue, and green threads with a matching halter-top. Macaw feathers were woven into her wild mane of hair and she had an anklet, bracelets, and necklace of obsidian, gold, and crystal breads. All of her clothing and jewelry was in the manner of the ancient Mayans, her ancestors.

She faced her attacker, snarling viciously. The crinos werewolf was large, and powerfully muscled. The Fallen Shadow Lord grinned darkly at the Balam, the fur of his reddish jaws still dark with blood. Sarita lunged, slashing at Stephen with her claws. He dodged out of the way. She moved forward again, and again he dodged. Slowly, he drew her back. Circling above, the raven cawed out another warning. Sarita was full of rage now, and didn't heed it. She should have. Powerful fangs sank into the back of her neck, and she screamed out in pain.

This was what Stephen had been waiting for. Darian grabbed Sarita's arms tightly, fighting against the jaguar's efforts to pull away from him. But leopards were mystics, and jaguars were warriors. Sarita was stronger, and managed to jerk her left arm from his grip, bringing her claws back to cut into his stomach. This caused him to yowl in pain, thus releasing his jaws from her neck. Stephen had already seized the opportunity though and brought his fist hard against the side of her head, then his other into her gut. Sarita keeled over in pain. Again Stephen hit her hard in the face, sending her flying backward onto her back on the ground. Darian, enraged, grabbed her tightly by the throat and lifted his other hand high, claws extended. The Garou grabbed the cat's hand before he could bring his claws down.

"Angelida said not to kill her! Yet."

Sarita now had regained enough consciousness to grab Darian's wrist with both hands, and jerked her lower body up. She wrapped her strong legs around his neck and jerked back, flipping herself over, and him with her. Darian was thrown down onto his own back on the pavement, and Sarita used the opportunity to try and run again. Stephen, however, was already ready and slashed at her back. Sawgrass dove, aiming straight for the werewolf's face. The wolf ducked, but the raven still got a shot in, drawing a line of blood in the black fur of the wolf's head. Stephen snarled up at the bird. Sarita, now knowing she couldn't hope to escape, looked up to winged her friend.

_Fly, Sawgrass! Do your job!_

The raven circled twice and cawed again, then turned and flew quickly away. Sarita turned back toward her attacked, and lunged in again. This time she got a good hit in across Stephen's shoulder, but he brought his fist up again, connecting hard with her jaw. Darian was now back up and kicked her hard in the back, on top of the claw marks from Stephen. Sarita fought back the pain, letting her rage consume her. They didn't want her killed, that meant Mason had sent them to capture her. She'd rather die fighting!

Fury filled the Balam, but she was badly wounded as well as outnumbered. Darian slashed at her legs, tearing into the muscle. Sarita dropped to one knee as she felt her leg torn and it buckled underneath her. Another blow to the side of the head sent her to the ground. The two Fallen shifters continued their beating, until there was nothing left for the werecat but blackness.

**. **

A loud cawing awoke the two kats. Chance growled angrily and rolled over, pulling his pillow over his head and trying to go back to sleep. Jake however got up and walked out of his room. The raven was back, and speaking so quickly to the human woman, that he couldn't understand the bird. Apparently, neither could Nakela.

"Sawgrass! Slow down! What happened to Sarita?"

"Devours and ShadowClaw ambush Hellcat! Beat her bad! She tell me fly, but I go back to see what happen. They take her down hole!"

"Hole? You mean the sewer?"

"Yes! They take her!"

Jake knew this wasn't good.

"Who took her? The vampire?"

Nakela spun around at the kat's voice. She never even heard him approach.

"Stephen Devours-the-Unborn and Darian ShadowClaw. On their own, they would have killed her. It had to be by Angelida's orders that they took her alive. Gaia knows what they plan to do with her."

"We've got to help her!"

"How? We don't even know where they would have gone."

"You don't have a way of keeping track of one another?"

Nakela shook her head sadly.

"Back home, we probably could have. But here... this city is far too large, and completely unfamiliar to all three of us. If they took her into the sewers, there's no telling to where."

"Unfamiliar to you maybe. But not to us. Could they have taken her to the swamp?"

Nakela thought about it for a moment, then sighed.

"I doubt it. Unconscious, she either would have stayed in crinos form, or shifted back into chatro. Either way, she's far too large for them to have taken too far."

"So, that gives us a smaller search area then!"

"NO! We can't ask you to help with this."

"Who said anything about asking...?"

Jake turned around at the voice behind him. The argument had finally caused Chance to get up, and he stood with his arms crossed over his chest looking at the group.

Nakela shook her head.

"Look, they're far too strong. They've already killed three kats. Angelida tore them apart. Now they've taken down one of the greatest warriors I know. You wouldn't stand a chance, and I can't take my war form in such a confined area. I really hate to say it, but Sarita is on her own."

Chance narrowed his eyes at the woman.

"So you're just going to give up? Sarita is your friend, and you're simply going to let these monsters kill her?"

"That's the problem. If they wanted to kill her, they would have done so. Angelida is extremely twisted and sadistic. She wanted Sarita alive for a reason."

The big tabby sighed and shook his head.

"Say what you will, but this vampire is in _our _city. And if she's already killed three of it's citizens, that makes it _our _problem. And we're going to deal with it."

Without another word, Chance headed downstairs, and toward the hangar below. Jake looked at Nakela, seeing the worried expression on her face.

"Miss Waterhawk, this is what we do. We'll find her. And we'll find a way to stop this Angelida."

He then turned and followed Chance down to the hangar.

**.**

It was now a little after 3 am. Angelida had her shifters bring the Hellcat to the steel factory at the edge of town. Using heavy metal chains, they bound the crinos werecat up by her wrists and ankles, her arms and legs spread apart in an X. They had also wrapped several chains around her face and into her mouth. The heavy steel links cut into the sides of her mouth as well as her tongue, preventing her from using her powerful jaws. When Sarita came too, she tried to thrash against her restraints, but she was too weak now and the chains were thick. She narrowed her ocean-blue eyes hatefully at the quartet of creatures that stood before her.

Stephen had returned to his homid form and stood beside and just behind Angelida, towering over the 'teenager'. As a human, Stephen was actually quite handsome. But he was cold-hearted and aloof, believing himself superior to the vast majority of those he came across. Despite his appearance, this air of arrogance tended to make most people keep away from him. Chigger and Darian were both in their crinos forms, Chigger kneeling at Ange's feet while Darian stood off to Sarita's left side. Angelida smiled darkly at the jaguar.

"Foolish cat. Do you always charge so blindly into death? I thought cats were supposed to be cleaver, yet this is twice in one day you've fallen for my traps."

Sarita thrashed with renewed anger, and tried to curse at the bloodsucker through the chains in her mouth. Ange just laughed.

"Oh don't worry. I'm not going to kill you. Yet. It would be quite interesting to see what these kats here think of a creature like you. We don't have to worry about the Masquerade so much here. Although, I think your kind call it the Veil? Am I right on that Stephen?"

She glanced to the tall homid behind her, who merely nodded his head slowly.

"I thought so. Anyway, Hellcat, I think you need to be a little more sedate first, though. Darian, if you please?"

"My pleasure..."

The black-furred werecat grinned darkly and walked to stand in front of the jaguar. Stephen turned and walked away, a look of disgust on his face. He'd sooner kill the Balam, rather than let the others have their perverse little game. Sarita tried to struggle against the chains as the panther leaned in close to her.

"You've never mated before, have you Sarita? No, being a metis, I imagine not. Nobody would even want you. Even the one you wanted... in the end, he took the black-furred felis over you, didn't he? Your own pride-sister. What a shame."

Gently, he ran the back of his clawed hand down the side of the jaguar's face. She snarled, her eyes full of hate, but was helpless to fight against him. Darian brought his hand down against her leg, then slowly ran his palm back up inside her thigh, pushing up her skirt. Sarita's tail was lashing, and again she struggled, but she had burned through too much rage and was weak. There was nothing she could do to stop the big panther from forcing himself upon her. She squeezed her eyes shut, but she couldn't block it out. Chigger's eerie hyena-like laugh echoed from somewhere behind the Bageerah.

Darian pushed his body hard against the muscular female, raking his claws over her skin, leaving thin red lines to stain her fur. He brought his rough tongue up the side of her neck and jaw, causing the jaguar to shiver. Was it a shiver of hate? Or of pleasure? He didn't care. He pushed harder. Darian always found pleasure in pain, and always sought to expose others to his masochistic ways. Sarita began to bleed, the crimson fluid dripping down her inner thighs, but this only excited the panther even more. A single tear rolled down the side of the jaguar's face, but the panther didn't care. He didn't even see it. He raked his sharp teeth down her neck, then bit into her shoulder. Her warm blood tasted good to him, and he forced himself even harder against her. Sarita hissed out from the pain, still fighting to ignore what was happening to her. But she couldn't, and Darian knew it.

Sarita lost all track of time. She didn't know how long her torment lasted. All she knew was the pain of it. And the humiliation, knowing that the blood-sucking vampire and her pathetic excuse for a Black Spiral Dancer were watching the whole ordeal. Sarita couldn't struggle anymore. She didn't have the rage, or the will. She could do nothing, and she knew it.


	8. Chapter 8

The Turbokat flew high over the buildings. They had searched for nearly two hours now. Razor used his infrared scanner, hoping that the werejaguar was still in a form large enough to be more noticeable over the normal-sized kats. T-Bone yawned, but was determined not to give up the search yet. He glanced back at his partner.

"Find anything yet, buddy?"

Razor shook his head sadly.

"No. Either she's changed forms, or they've taken her further than we thought. Maybe Nakela was right."

"We're going to find her. And then we're going to kick that blood-sucker's tail off our world! I'm going to make a sweep over the industrial area."

The jet banked, and headed toward the east. After another half hour, Razor suddenly spotted something.

"T-Bone! The steel mill! Take us down closer!"

"Roger that!"

The jet flew toward the mill, then engaged the vertical thrusters, hovering over the large building. Below the jet, the scanner moved to sweep over the entire building, coming to a stop near the middle.

"There! That's gotta be her! Way too big to be a regular kat!"

The larger SWAT Kat looked around for a place to land. There wasn't enough room inside the tall fenced area, so he had to land in the parking lot outside of it. As soon as the jet landed and the engines shut off, the two kats quickly jumped out and ran toward the fence. Razor easily cut a hole in the chain links with his glovatrix, and the pair made their way carefully to the entrance of the mill. Ready for anything, T-Bone cautiously pulled open the large sliding door as Razor aimed his glovatrix, scanning the interior. He didn't see any movement.

The kats slowly made their way into the steel mill, looking in every direction for possible enemies. T-Bone spoke softly, keeping his voice low.

"Are you sure you only saw one?"

"Yeah, but the vampire could still be here. She wouldn't have shown up on the infrared. She's technically dead, so no body heat."

"Great... And didn't Nakela mention something about the wolves being able to enter the spirit world?"

"Yeah. That definitely would have made them impossible to see. Wait... there she is!"

Ahead of them, they could see the large werecat chained up. They knew it was Sarita. Her golden fur and black spots & rosettes were unmistakable. The kats ran quickly over to her, but then slowed to a stop a few yards away. This was the first time they'd seen her massive war form, or the Mayan clothing and jewelry, but that wasn't what had caught their attention. T-Bone couldn't believe what he saw.

Sarita was hanging from the chains, her paws just off the ground and her body limp. Her head was down, the dark auburn hair covering her face. Blood dripped from a large wound on her shoulder, as well as down her legs from under the skirt. She had several claw marks across her arms and stomach. She had obviously been badly beaten, but it was the blood on her legs that made them both sick. They knew what had happened. Razor took a deep breath.

"Holy kats... How could they do this to her?"

T-Bone glanced to his partner at the comment, then cautiously moved a bit closer to the werecat.

"Sarita?"

There was a soft groan. At least she was still alive. Her head lifted just enough for them to see her eyes beneath the dark hair. She then closed her eyes and hung her head again, ignoring them.

Razor looked up at the chains. In her crinos form, Sarita was too tall for either of them to reach her wrists, but there was a catwalk over her, the chains attached to the railing.

"Hang on, Hellcat. We're going to get you out of here."

He quickly ran over to the nearest ladder and climbed up to the catwalk. By the time he got to the chains, T-Bone was already using the buzzsaw on his glovatrix to cut the chains on her ankles. Razor used his own to cut through the upper chains that held her wrists. In crinos form, her weight was over a quarter of a ton. Not as heavy as her chatro form, but still too heavy. They had to simply let her fall when the last chain was cut. Razor then jumped down from the catwalk, landing easily, and he & T-Bone carefully looked her over. Razor spoke softly to the large jaguar.

"Sarita? Can you change forms? We need you to be something smaller so we can get you out of here."

The werecat didn't respond, but after a moment her form began to shrink. She became a human, with the same dark skin as Nakela, and the same clothing as her sokto form. Her hair was the same shade of dark auburn, but without the black spots. She was also quite small, about the same height at Razor. Now at barely over a hundred pounds, lighter even than Nakela, T-Bone was able to easily pick up her, trying to be as gentle as he could due to her many wounds. They also guessed that the wounds they _couldn't _see had to be worse than those they could.

**.**

By the time they returned to the hangar, most of Sarita's wounds had already healed. Nakela ran up to them as the SWAT Kats carefully brought Sarita out of the jet. Nakela gasped when she saw the blood.

"Great Mother have mercy...! What... what did they do to her...?"

T-Bone, holding the still limp body of Sarita, looked over at Nak, his eyes narrowed.

"They beat her, badly. And... I think they raped her."

"Oh sweet Gaia... _this _is why Angelida wanted her alive! She knew... somehow she _knew _that this was the thing that could possibly break her! She didn't want her dead physically, she wanted to kill her _spirit_! To make her suffer..."

They carefully took Sarita upstairs. At Nakela's request, they took her into her bathroom and T-Bone set her down gently in the bathtub, then left, closing the door. Nakela cleaned her friend up as best she could. Even though the physical wounds had healed, she knew that there would be mental and emotional scars that could never heal on their own. And she wasn't sure if Sarita would agree to the Rite that could help her. The Hellcat was too stubborn, always saying that her scars were reminders. But this... this was a scar that even the tough warrior-cat wasn't strong enough to endure.

Sarita was unconscious by choice, withdrawing her own consciousness back within itself, ignoring everything around her. As such, she didn't shift back to her birth-form. This was the first clue to the Mokole that the emotional trauma was extensive. Fierce warriors though they were, the Balam were also the most emotional of the werecats, and the most known for withdrawing into deep, irreversible depression. Nakela shed a tear for her friend, and spoke softly to her.

"Come on, Hellcat. You can pull through this. We need you. You're the only one who knows enough about Angelida to defeat her. Come back."

After several long, silent moments, Sarita slowly opened her deep blue eyes. They were dull, almost lifeless as they stared at the woman. Nakela smiled softly.

"There you are. You're a warrior. You can get over this."

Sarita closed her eyes again and took a deep breath, letting it slowly. She then re-opened her eyes, looking at Nak.

"Do... does anyone know...? What happened...?

The other human nodded slowly, her eyes turned down. She couldn't look Sarita in the face and still answer the question.

"We know. Chance and Jake... they knew when they found you. Chance told us... what he thinks they did to you. Sawgrass and me... Oh Sarita! I'm so sorry!"

The werecat just sighed and closed her eyes again. She'd rather the leech had just killed her. This... this was worse.

**.**

Angelida and her pack returned to the hidden lab in the swamp just as the sun was beginning to rise. The heavy foliage blocked the early rays of sunlight just long enough for the vampire to get inside. Viper looked up in surprise at the group's return. He had actually hoped they wouldn't come back, but a part of him was also curious to know what they had been up to.

"Ssssso... How wassss your hunt?"

The three shifters remained in their animal forms, but the Angelida retook her 'normal' shape.

"The hunt went perfectly. We fed quite well. We also had a run-in with that Golden Hellcat. She fell right into my trap and we've broken her far beyond anything that has been done to her before."

The vampire grinned darkly. Viper looked at her sadistic expression, wondering exactly what they did to the werejaguar, whom they claimed to be such a powerful warrior.

"What exsssactly did you do to her?"

Ange rubbed the black panther under his chin, the large cat purring loudly.

"Darian here gave her a taste of what true dark pleasure really is."

The kat-snake shivered. Maybe he didn't want to know afterall.

"What will you do now? You can't sssstay out in daylight, can you?"

"No. Now I will sleep until dusk. Stephen, Darian, and Chigger will remain out in the swamp. Unless... you need them here, that is."

"Oh no! I... uh... I think it might be best for them to have a bit more space."

He didn't want to admit that the creatures made him nervous, but he couldn't quite hide it either.

Ange smiled.

"By the way, I saw those SWAT Kats you mentioned. They found her. And apparently, they knew who she was. And _what _she was."

"_They what_?"

As if things weren't bad enough. He had fallen in with this twisted vampire and her were-beasts, but now the SWAT Kats were allies with the other shifters? The vampire's enemies? Viper groaned. _What _had he gotten himself into?

"Where will you sssssleep?"

He wondered if she even trusted him enough to sleep here during the day with her 'pets' out. He doubted that the shifters trusted him. He certainly didn't trust them. Ange just shrugged.

"Here is fine."

She walked back toward the far wall, then lay down in the ground. Viper stared in disbelief as the vampire's form melted into the ground! The three 'animals' made sounds that Viper guessed was laughing, then they turned and walked out into the swamp, much to his relief.


	9. Chapter 9

Chance and Jake were both fairly tired when they opened the garage. They had spent half the night searching for Sarita as well as for any signs of the vampire and her group. Once the Hellcat had been found and brought back, the knowledge of what had happened to her prevented either of them from getting any more sleep that morning. Jake had let her use his room since he would be up the rest of the day and she needed to rest. Sarita of course had refused, but Nakela insisted. It's hard to argue with a dragon, even if she was only in a form the size of a kat.

None of them had any appetite that morning, but around noon the guys finally ordered some pizza. They seemed a bit surprised that the human/dragon seemed to enjoy the tuna topping, but she explained that her animal form was an alligator and that she had grown up on a large peninsula surrounded by ocean, so she was quite preferable to fish and other seafood. The raven it seemed, would eat pretty much anything. Sarita on the other hand completely refused to eat. Nothing Nakela could do would convince her otherwise. Of course, Nak knew that the jaguar, even in human form, was a strict carnivore and actually couldn't digest anything other than meat. Jake even dethawed a bit of raw hamburger meat from the freezer, but she still wouldn't eat.

Both the kats and the Mokole were very worried about the Balam, but there wasn't anything that any of them could do. She had been through a very terrible ordeal that had caused more mental and emotional damage than any of them could understand. The day passed pretty quietly. Even Sawgrass was not his normal chatty self, although when finally asked about what had happened when he and Sarita went out into the city, he spared no details about what they had found, although Nakela had to translate some of the bird's speech for the kats to understand. Jake and Chance were disgusted by the details of the remains and knowing what had happened to them, but it didn't even seem to phase Nakela. They wondered at exactly what sort of horrors these shifters faced in their constant 'war' to make such things second nature to them.

The day grew late, and evening began to approach. Nakela and Sawgrass had left for a short time into what they called the 'Umbra'. The two kats were told that this was the Spirit World which some of the shifting-breeds were able to enter, though the felines, including Sarita, had a much harder time doing so. Chance and Jake were relaxing upstairs, when a Jake caught a movement out of the corner of his eye. Turing around quickly, he saw the jaguar, in her feline form, walking out of the bedroom.

"Hey. How are you feeling?"

There was genuine concern in his voice. Chance, hearing his friend's question, turned around from his video-game to also look at the jaguar. Sarita just glanced over at them, twitched her ears, then turned and walked down the stairs, her head held low. The two kats glanced at each other, then back to the jaguar. When they first met her the previous day, she was a fierce warrior, and even the serious injury from the land mine didn't seem to bother her too much. But now... she was a completely different cat.

Once the jaguar was out of sight, Chance walked over to his partner, still looking at the stairs where the jaguar had gone.

"What do you think? Go after her? With the other two gone, she could end up getting into trouble."

"I don't know, Chance. I don't see her doing much of anything right now. Still, we can't risk anyone spotting a jaguar prowling around here. I'll go."

Jake got up from the sofa where he had been watching the news, and went down the stairs into the garage. The office door had been pushed open, so he knew she had gone outside. Once Jake passed the doorway, he could see the spotted cat laying on the roof of an old junked car nearby, watching the sunset. She flicked her ears back as he approached, obviously having heard him, or at least sensed him somehow.

"Are you gonna be okay?"

He really didn't expect much of an answer. He knew she had some form of language in her feline forms that the other two shifters could understand, but he couldn't. Jake froze in his tracks in surprise at suddenly hearing her voice, in his _head_!

_Why do you care? Why does anyone? I am what I am, and it shouldn't matter what happens to me._

"What you _are _shouldn't matter that much. You're a living, breathing creature. A person, regardless of what shape you take. Why _shouldn't _anyone care what happens to you?"

The jaguar huffed, her ears turned back and partially pinned, her tail lashing.

_You don't get it. You don't know anything about us. I'm a metis. A deformed, inbred creature that's not even supposed to exist. Yet my breed is becoming more and more common among all of the Folk. Most arn't even fit to be warriors or sorcerers, or even kit-sitters. When we are hurt, no-one cares. When we die, no-one mourns._

"Why? Why should your breed matter so much? I'm sorry, but you're right. I don't know much about you, and maybe that's why I don't see why you should matter any less than anyone else."

The jaguar suddenly turned her head around to face the kat with a deep-throated growl, her ears pinned and her sharp fangs showing in a fierce snarl. Her strong claws dug into the metal of the old car.

_It matters because it's WRONG! It's against the Karoush! The Litany! The more of us there are, the more proof of how much we've been corrupted! We ARE the products of corruption! That's why we are born deformed in the half-breed forms! My parents sinned, and for it I now suffer! I was abandoned as a kit, forced to fend for myself or die at such a young age in the deadly jungles! My parents never cared about me! Why should anyone else? Just let me be!_

The jaguar jumped off the car and was about to run off.

Now Jake understand what was wrong. He'd heard about it before when he was an Enforcer. A 'problem' that rape victims faced, that made their ordeal affect them even worse.

'Holy Kats! She blames herself!'

"What about Waterhawk? Or Sawgrass!"

Sarita had only taken three strides when she skidded to a stop. She stood hunched up, her ears pinned, but she didn't turn around or respond. The sun had now gone down and the sky was growing dark. The crescent moon hung low overhead. Sarita could feel her rage again building under Seline's gaze.

"They're your friends, arn't they? They _do _know, and yet they still care about you!"

That was it. The Two-Hearts were always full of rage, and with her willpower drained, Sarita couldn't contain it. She spun around, and roared. In an instant, she was now the half-ton saber-tooth, and she charged the smaller kat in blind fury. Jake had never meant to upset her, but he knew nothing about the Balam's notorious fits of rage.

"OH CRUD!"

Jake had extremely fast reflexes, but so did Sarita. He couldn't get over the shock fast enough to jump out of the angry Hellcat's way. But thankfully, he didn't have to. Jake never even saw the dragon until her powerful clawed hands grabbed the large cat in mid-jump. Sarita roared out and struggled against the feathered dragon and slashed with her powerful jaws and sharp claws. Nakela knew how strong Sarita's jaw-strength was, and that she couldn't allow the cat to get a grip on her, so she did the only thing she could. Nak threw the Hellcat, causing her to crash hard into a large pile of scrap over fifteen yards away.

Having heard the loud roaring, Chance ran quickly out to see what happened, just in time to see the raging saber-tooth get thrown by the dragon.

"What the heck is going on?"

Nakela turned to look down at the pair of kats, snarling with her foot-long teeth bared. The raven, who'd been flying in circles just above the two female shifters, swooped down to yell at them.

"Inside! Now! Inside!"

Chance batted at the bird with the back of his hand and glared up at the dragon.

"What's happening with you guys?"

Jake however, turned to run back inside.

"Come on, Chance! This is something we _don't _need to get involved in!"

Chance was shocked at his friend's response. Jake never ran unless there was damned good reason. Looking back to where the jaguar had been thrown, he could see that she was already back on her paws, and snarling viciously at them, a hateful fire in her violet-blue eyes. Maybe Jake was right. Both kats ran back inside the garage, locking the door.

Nakela roared out at the chatro jaguar All Mokole could fight, but she was a Midnight Sun. She was NOT a warrior, and knew that the jaguar could cause some serious damage to her, and to anything or anyone else that got too close until her regained control of her rage. Taking a few steps to the side, she raked her claws down the side of the large piece of metal, honing them to razor-sharpness. She didn't want to, but she knew there was only one possible way to stop the cat.

Sarita charged, lunging forward with her powerful jaws. Nakela took a step back, bringing her long tail around. She slammed her tail-spikes into the side of the charging cat, but Sarita's thick hide and fast charge caused the damage to be minimal, though it did throw her aside several yards, leaving a pair of puncture wounds from the spikes. Sarita lunged again, and this time her front claws connected to the dragon's chest. Nakela screamed out in pain, but was still able to grasp the massive cat in her claws. The Golden Hellcat ripped at the dragon, but was in turn badly injured as both sets of razor-claws, and the sharp teeth in the long reptilian jaws, tore into her. Nakela pulled the cat off of her and slammed her down, hard. The jolt, along with the injuries, was enough to knock the Hellcat unconscious. Nak stood over her for several moments, until she was sure the cat wouldn't get back up to attack again. She was bleeding badly, and she couldn't hold herself any longer. The damage was too severe. Nakela changed back to her homid form, and collapsed.

Jake and Chance had watched the fight through the window. They had never seen anything so primal and vicious. Once Nakela lost collapsed and it was clear Sarita wouldn't get up anytime soon, they both ran out to check on the pair. The raven landed on the ground beside the unconscious human. Jake looked over at the bird as he checked Nakela's wounds.

"What the heck happened?"

"Rage. Two-Heart is warrior. Rage makes frenzy. Go mad. Not know friend from foe."

Chance, who was checking on the Hellcat, glanced over his shoulder at the bird.

"She just went mad? How?"

"It's the animal. Cats full of pain and hate from past wrongs. Two-Hearts worst of all. _Very _unpredictable."

**.**

Viper poured a small amount of the bluish liquid on the rat, then stepped back. The rodent began to squeal loudly as it's body began to grow and mutate. It ripped out of it's own skin, the raw flesh beneath turning a greenish color, then slowly to black. Viper hissed in frustration and annoyance. It still wasn't working right. The rat's screams became louder, more high pitched, then it's flesh burst apart in a black, gooey mess. Viper threw the vial across the room and it crashed against the wall, the glass shattering, leaving the liquid to boil into the ground.

"Cursssse it! I sssstill can't get the formula right! I need that katalysssst!"

"What katalyst?"

The kat-snake spun around to find the vampire standing only a few feet behind him, her tail twitching casually. He flinched away a bit at the sudden sight of the creature. She smiled darkly.

"Are you afraid of me, Viper?"

He narrowed his pupil-less yellow eyes, but didn't say anything in response to her. He didn't have to. She could sense it in him. Viper was certainly wary of the strange creature, and a part of him did fear her. She was small, only a teenager in body. But he knew she was powerful. The shape-changers obeyed her, and the smaller one certainly seemed to fear her. He knew there had to be a reason for that. It wasn't her appearance that was frightening, even he had to admit that the furless, scale-less creature was somewhat attractive. It was her calm, confident personality. She _knew _how powerful she was, and she _knew _how to make others nervous around her. In some ways, she reminded him of Dark Kat.

"You really don't have to fear me, you know. I already told you, I will not harm you. So long as you do not attempt to betray me, of course."

"Of courssssse."

He was still wary. He didn't trust her, but he still couldn't figure out what drew him to her. He kept thinking that the vampire had some kind of supernatural ability to sway others to her will. He'd tried to fight it, but couldn't. He didn't even know _what _it was he was supposed to fight. Ange continued to smile darkly.

"Now then, what exactly were you doing with the rat? And what 'katalyst' were you needing?"

How much did she see? How long had she been there, silently watching. His nervousness increased as he realized this creature could easily sneak up on, and kill him, without him never even realizing it.

"One of my latessst Exsssperimentssss. But it'ssss not working the way I planned. I need a chemical called katalysssst 47."

She merely shrugged.

"And where would you get it?"

"Megakat Biochemical Labsssss... It'ssss near the ssssscenter of the sssscity. And _very _difficult to break into."

The vampire's smile broadened a bit, and she gave a soft laugh.

"We'll see about that."

The Doctor blinked. She was going to break into the labs for him?

"Are you sssseriousssss?"

"Oh yes. The boys and me could use a bit of fun tonight. And this time, _you're _coming along."


	10. Chapter 10

It only took about an hour for Nakela to begin to wake up. Her wounds were pretty bad, and neither shifter seemed to be healing much. However, the wounds would have probably killed a kat or normal animal, yet both had survived, thankfully. Sarita however was in her massive chatro form, her 'natural' form as Nakela had said. The kats knew that they couldn't leave her out in the open in case someone pulled into the yard, though that was doubtful at night, or an Enforcer chopper just happened to fly overhead. Due to her size, they had to use the winch on the back of the tow-truck to pull her inside the garage. The blood was easy enough to hide with the red dirt that covered the ground of the salvage yard. They were both worried about the state of mind that the Hellcat would be in when she awoke, but Nak and Sawgrass both assured them that she'd be fine. They were right that she wouldn't go mad again, but she certainly wasn't 'fine'.

Sarita was even more depressed than she had been previously, simply laying there in the garage with her head on her paws, staring off into nothing. Because of her poor condition, Jake had insisted that Nakela use his room tonight, and he would sleep on the couch. Later, Chance checked on Sarita one more time before going to bed himself. She still refused to eat or drink, and wouldn't even look at the kat. He worried about the jaguar's state of mind, as well as her physical health. He actually felt sorry for her. The first time he had encountered her, she was a fierce warrior, and he was actually glad that Nakela had intervened when she did, now knowing exactly how strong she really was. But now, he could hardly believe this was the same cat, after seeing her reduced to such a pitiful state of depression in less than two days.

**. **

They waited until a little after midnight to make the attack. Viper had lead the vampire and her three shape-changers through the sewers deep into the center of Megakat City. To the Megakat Biochemical Labs. The trick would be to get inside. Once inside, the dark creatures figured they would have an easy time with the mortals there. Large shielded gun turrets surrounded the outside of the lab on the street above, but that was not how they planned to enter. The front was too obvious, and too difficult. Viper had gotten in before via the sewers, but that way was now blocked. For the moment.

Dr. Viper looked up at the thick cement slab interlaced with bars of agracite alloy.

"Thissss isss why I've been unable to get in lately. I could go above, but they've increassssed their sssecurity there too."

Ange wore her kevlar body suit, her silver-etched machete in her right hand, the blade resting against her shoulder, and the lion-skull helmet under her left arm. She studied the bars a moment.

"How long have these been here?"

"About a year now."

"So not long. Stephen?"

She looked at the crinos werewolf who walked over and ran his clawed hands over the concrete and bars.

"Too strong to break through. But I might could get through via the Umbra. I'll see if there's another way in from there."

Ange nodded and held out the blade. The Garou looked at the steel weapon's polished surface, concentrating on his reflection. He then stepped forward. Dr. Viper blinked in surprise as the massive creature suddenly shimmered, then vanished into thin air!

"What happened..?"

Ange gave a soft, dark laugh.

"He went into the Umbra. The 'Spirit World'. It's a talent of the shifters, particularly the wolves."

Darian, in his felis form, snorted disdainfully. The wolves could come and go almost at will, while his kind were mostly stuck in the physical relm, not even able to enter the Penumbra. They waited almost ten minutes, then heard a crashing sound further down the tunnel. Viper began to get nervous, but Ange simply smiled.

"Let's go."

The shifters and the vampire were fast. Viper was quick, but he still had a difficult time keeping up with them. A few yards away, they found a small hole smashed in the side of the sewer tunnel. Ange put her helmet on, then she crawled through first, followed by Chigger, then Darian. Viper hesitated, then crawled through as well. It led to a small sinkhole in the ground, with another hole going up. They came up into a storage room. Viper couldn't believe it. They _had _found another way into the building!

Stephen had shifted down to his hispo form. Ange pulled down the visor of her helmet, hiding her face. Only her feline ears and tail were visible from the body armor.

"Okay, Doctor. Where to?"

"Thisssss way."

Viper took the lead now, the vampire behind him, and the three shifters spreading out. At one point, Chigger stopped and pricked his ears with his head held up, looking down a darkened hallway. This caused everyone else to freeze and listen. Ange motioned with her hand, and the three shifters ran quickly down the hall. Viper then heard a sudden yell, cut off in a gurgle only two seconds later. It was followed by the sound of snarling, tearing, and the crunching of bone.

"Sssssso much for _that _sssecruity guard!"

Ange nodded, then they continued on quickly through the building as the shifters fed. Viper led the vampire up two flights of stairs, then down another hall.

"Almossssst there! Where are your petsssss?"

"Don't worry about them. They'll catch up."

They continued on, then came to a sudden stop at the sound of voices. Just in front of them, a pair of security guards came around the corner.

"Hey what are you... It's Doctor Viper!"

The first guard drew his gun while the second grabbed his radio. He never got a chance to speak, as Ange, with lightning speed, threw her machete at him. The 20" blade sliced straight through the guard's throat. The first guard, terrified, fired the gun. Viper dodged aside and swung his long tail around, tripping the kat. Before the guard could get up, Ange had ran forward and grabbed him by the neck, jerking him easily up into the air, his feet dangling. The security guard gasped for air as he struggled against the vampire's powerful grip.

"Who... _what _are you?"

Viper walked forward and laughed at the guard.

"Ssssstupid! Don't you know _Death _when you ssssssee it?"

The kat's eyed went wide in terror. With her free hand, Angelida pulled off the helmet, revealing her frightening visage. Her eyes glowed a deep red and her fangs were long and sharp. She jerked the kat forward and sank her fangs deep in his neck and bit down. He screamed as she then jerked back, ripping a large chunk of flesh. Blood spurted from the severed vein as Ange spit out the chunk of flesh and fur, then bit down again, drinking the kat's blood. Viper found her feeding both gruesome, and fascinating. After a few moments, she tossed the lifeless corpse aside, wiping her blood-covered mouth with the back of a gloved hand.

"Well that wassssss interresssting."

"And satisfying. Now then, those chemicals?"

"Yessss... they're in there!"

He pointed to the door at the other end of the hall. The two walked over to the large steel door. Locked, of course.

"Thisssss issss new."

He tried to break the door, and the lock, as he'd been able to do in the past. The new door was far to strong. Ange grinned.

"Allow me."

She reached back with her right hand, focusing the strength in her blood, then brought it forward, _hard_. She connected against the door over the lock, and created a huge dent, causing the door to smash inward, effectively breaking the lock. Viper's eyes went wide at her sudden show of strength. Now he _knew _why she was always so calm and confident!

He went inside and looked around at the many different vials of mutagens and chemicals. Finding the one he was looking for, Viper grabbed it, as well as another he had thought about possibly needing.

"Okay, now letsss go."

"What's the hurry?"

"I'm not conssssscerned about the Enforcerssss, but the SSSSWAT Katssss could posssssibly be here ssssoon."

"So? Let them come. We can deal with them."

"On foot perhapssss. But not aginsssssst their jet. Not yet..."

Ange shrugged. The SWAT Kats were apparently allies of Sarita and Nakela. She'd deal with them soon enough anyway.

"Fine. Let's go."

They made their way quickly back downstairs. The three shifters were already waiting near the store-room where they had come in. All three had blood on their paws and muzzles.

**. **

No silent alarms had ever been hit, and no-one was able to report out about the break-in at the labs until it was too late. By the time the Enforcers got there, all they found was eight dead security guards, and two dead scientists who had stayed for a night-shift. Big mistake. Most of the corpses were at least partially eaten, apparently by some sort of large animals. Massive bloody paw-prints were found everywhere, but they seemed to disappear on the ground floor of the building. They had also found that the heavy steel door to the chemical room had been smashed in by something _very _powerful.

Commander Feral stood outside of the door with his sergeant and a handful of other Enforcers. One of the head scientists, called in once it was learned of in massacre and theft, was going through the list of katalysts.

"Two vials are missing, Commander. Katalyst 47, and Katalyst X-98. Both very dangerous mutagens."

"Mutagens huh? Sounds like that snake, Dr. Viper, is back. But how could he do something like this?"

The scientist looked at the door and shook his head.

"That door is a foot of steel. It would take something of massive strength to break it. It wasn't the door itself, but the lock that was hit. The steel rod that locks it is only about 4" thick. That's what broke. The hit was targeted for the weakest point on the door."

"It seems your security measures arn't as strong as you thought, Doctor. And apparently, if this was the work of Viper, he's in league with whatever creatures killed and ate those three kats in the southern part of town last night."

"Most likely some new mutations of his. I'm worried that whatever he's up to this time, this is only just the beginning."

Feral narrowed his eyes as he stared at the dent in the heavy steel door.

"So do I..."

**. **

Chance and Jake had found out about the break-in at the labs last night while on patrol as the SWAT Kats, but by the time anyone got there, it was far too late. The were-raven perched near the group of Enforcers outside the entrance to the building, listening to everything that was said. He later relayed the information to the SWAT Kats, which confirmed their suspicions. Viper had indeed teamed up with the vampire, and now they had raided the Biochemical labs, slaughtering everyone they found inside. That next morning, they watched the report of in incident on the news, but it didn't reveal anything that the raven hadn't already told them. Jake shook his head.

"I don't like this, pal. That is a _bad _combination."

"Yeah. We're gonna have to find a way to stop that snake, and the blood-sucker, before they can cause any-more serious damage. Or take any more lives."

"Affirmative. But the question is, how? With Sarita and Nakela both in such bad shape... well, those things are stronger than anything we've faced before."

"But they're _not _invincible. I doubt even those monsters can stand up to the firepower of the Turbokat."

"I hope so, buddy. I really hope so."

Two days passed as the shifters continued to heal. Nakela seemed to be getting a little better each day, and Sarita's wounds were healing too, though she still would not speak or eat. She at least would drink water now, and Jake & Chance were able to convince her to move to at least the far back of the garage where she could be kept out of sight. Trying to ignore the two wounded shape-changers, the pair of kats continued on with their normal lives, including making nightly patrols in the Turbokat. Strangely, the crime seemed to be slightly lessened in the city with the exception of the nightly brutal murders in the southern part of town. Though they searched, the SWAT Kats were unable to locate any trace of the vampire and her evil shifters, or Dr Viper.

The Corax however, would spend his days flying over the city, and would then come back and inform them of what he saw. Now Chance was beginning to understand what the dragon had meant about the raven being a useful spy. There wasn't much that escaped his notice. Most of his information was about the crime in the city, what was being done about it, the many rumors about the 'animals' killing and eating people in the night, and what the Enforcers were trying to do to stop it.


	11. Chapter 11

The third day after the fierce fight between the dragon and the were-jaguar, Nakela had finally healed enough to get up and walk around a bit. Her usual cheerful personality was very withdrawn now due to worry about her friend. It was about mid-day, and there was no sign of anyone else in the apartment. However, the sounds downstairs told her where at least the two kats were.

Jake and Chance had two cars currently inside the garage to be worked on. They had the first up on a lift, working on the undercarriage. Nakela made sure that there was no-one else around to see her, before she began to slowly walk down the stairs.

"Hey guys."

They both paused in their work at the sound of the woman's voice. Jake was certainly relieved to see that she was feeling better. He was really starting to like these strange creatures, particularly Nakela.

"Glad to see you're up and about, finally. How are you feeling?"

She shrugged lightly.

"Better. Where's Sarita?"

Chance nodded toward the back of the garage.

"Downstairs. Somehow she managed to go down into the hangar last night. Don't know how in that huge form of hers."

Nak gave a faint smile.

"She had to have shifted forms. That means she's healed well too. That's good, because it's time for us to leave."

This came as a bit of a surprise to the two kats. They expected that eventually the shifters would decide to leave, since they were used to being able to go out whenever they wished in their own world. Still, they thought the trio would at least wait until they were fully healed, and especially with Sarita's mental state. Jake looked at the woman with concern.

"Already? Why?"

She sighed sadly.

"We are creatures of nature. Sarita especially. This place is not good for her to be. Especially for her to heal mentally and emotionally. She, _we_, need to be out in more natural surroundings. We _are_ the protectors of nature, afterall. The children of the Earth Mother."

"Then, where will you go?"

"I'm not sure yet. Normally, I'd say the swamp. But since Angelida's already taken it as her territory, that's the last place we should try to go now. Are there any other natural places around here? Preferably wooded?"

The two kats looked at each other a moment, then back to the shifter. Chance spoke up.

"Well, there's mostly mountains and desert to the north and east. Ocean to the west. There's Attakata island, but it's a few miles out."

Jake nodded.

"Also Megakat Springs in the desert but it's quite popular with tourists and vacationers, so probably not a good idea. As far as wooded, that would be Megakat City Park. It's about five square miles with a artificial lake."

This suggestion perked her up a bit.

"Really? Where is it?"

"The center of the city."

Nakela thought about it for a moment.

"Yes, I think that would be best. We'll have to travel there late a night. Hopefully Sawgrass can guide us there."

Chance knew that the raven was already familiar with the park, but he still wasn't keen on the idea of the females going back out into the city when they were still wounded.

"Are you sure you don't want to wait a bit longer until you're both better healed?"

She shook her head.

"No. The longer we wait, the worse Sarita will get. She needs to heal, emotionally. The _only _way for that, is to try and connect with Gaia, if that is possible on this world. The sooner she gets into a forested environment, the better."

They knew it was impossible trying to argue with the were-dragon. That night, the trio of shifters left, led by the Corax, into the heart of the city.

.

A week went by, and still there was no hints of what Viper was planning. The vicious attacks continued, though they were becoming more spread out and apparently more random. The vampire was smart, and she seemed to know how to avoid detection by both the Enforcers and the SWAT Kats. The were-raven continued to visit them daily, letting them know what he'd seen and heard about the goings on in the city. They managed to keep better informed about where and when the killings took place than the Enforcers did, but still were never able to find and stop the killings. Even the sharp raven could only find the victims after the fact, once the vampire and her shifters had vanished again.

Whenever the kats asked about Nakela and Sarita, the bird would just fluff up his feathers and refuse to answer. After five days, they finally got an answer out of him, though not what they'd expected.

"Don't know. Not see in two days."

Jake was shocked, and worried.

"Two days? Where could they have gone?"

"Umbra. Nak say Sar need heal. Only she can do. Only alone. Need time."

He sighed and shook his head. The Spirit World. Hopefully that meant they were at least safe from the vampire and her pack. Chance wasn't so sure.

"I thought the Hellcat couldn't go into the Umbra?"

"Not like Nak and me. Or like Garou. She has _special _way. Good, but bad."

"Quit speaking in riddles, bird!"

The raven ruffled his feathers in irritation.

"She have _special _relm. She enter and go, and she choose who else enter and go. Good to do, but bad too. Means she not plan to go home."

The kats looked to each other in surprise. Jake really didn't like the sound of that.

"Not go home? You mean, she doesn't plan to go back to your own world?"

"Yes. I go now."

"Sawgrass, wait..."

The raven didn't pay attention. He just spread his wings and took off back into the city again.

Chance crossed his arms.

"I don't like the sound of that. If she doesn't plan to go back, it _could _mean she doesn't plan on surviving if/when she finally takes on that vampire."

"I agree with you on that. I'm wondering if we should stop by the park at some point and see if we can find them."

"How? If that bird can't find them, and he can actually _enter _the Spirit World, how the heck are we supposed to? I don't think you can make a gadget for that one, bud."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

.

Two more days pass, but they no longer saw the raven. Jake couldn't help feeling that something was wrong. During that time, Hard Drive stirred up some trouble, but it wasn't too difficult to short circuit the techno-freak's plans. Still there was no sign of Viper, and the vampire continued to elude them.

Jake sat on the couch, watching the evening news. Ann Gorra came on with a special report that caught his attention.

"Chance! Come here and look at this!"

"What?"

The tabby walked over to also see the tv. The report was filmed earlier that day, in the Park!

_"No-one can explain the strange influx of plant and animal life here in Megakat City Park. Over the past few days, plants have grown up everywhere, with ferns and flowering plants seeming to flourish. The beauty and peacefulness is astounding. Birds and small animals are far more widely seen than they were even a week ago, and there have even been a few reported sightings of an alligator in the lake, although this has not been confirmed."_

The images of the park showed the plant life far more lush, like a natural forest rather than a kat-made park. Both kats had the same conclusion.

"That's gotta be them!"

The decision was made. The next day, they took the tow truck and drove out to the city park. When Jake got out, closing the passenger-side door, he was amazed by what he saw.

"I don't believe it..."

It was even more beautiful than the images on the tv. It was amazing how such a transformation could take place in only a matter of day. The ginger looked toward the small lake.

"Supposedly, Nak has been seen out here a few times. At least, I'm assuming it's her. No way a gator could get all the way over here from the swamp without being noticed."

"Oh come on, haven't you ever heard about alligators in the sewer?"

"Very funny, Chance."

The big tabby just shrugged. They began to walk toward the lake, to a an area a bit away from the other kats who came out to enjoy the natural beauty. Jake looked around at the others.

"I don't get how they can hide here with so many kats around, though. Sarita maybe in her Sokto form, but not Nakela."

"There's a lot that those two can do that we're never going to be able to understand. I mean, heck, look at what's happened to this place!"

Before Jake could respond, they both jerked their heads up at the loud cawing above them. A large raven circled the pair of kats, cawing, then flew off a short distance, landing on a branch.

"Do you think...?"

"Yeah. It has to be."

They followed the raven. Once they got close, it flew off a short distance into the trees, landing on another branch. The raven led them deeper into the trees, until they were completely out of sight of the other kats. The air suddenly seemed to shimmer, and a form materialized out of the thick plant life. It was a tall she-kat with golden fur, black spots & rosettes, auburn hair and ocean blue eyes wearing Mayan clothing and jewelry, brightly-colored feathers woven into her flowing hair.

"Sarita!"

They could immediately see the difference in her. The life had come back into her eyes, and she gave them a slight smile.

"Welcome to my home. If you'd allow it, I'll show you what it _really _looks like."

Sawgrass flew down and perched on her shoulder.

Chance wasn't sure what she meant, but Jake answered first.

"Uh, sure..."

"Give me your hands."

She held out her delicate five-fingered hands, palms up.

The pair of kats glanced at each other in slight confusion. Jake took a step forward and tentatively took her right hand. After a moment, Chance also walked forward and took her other hand. She smiled softly.

"Now, step forward with me. _Trust me_."

She took a step backward, and they in turn stepped forward, keeping up with her. Everything shimmered, then blurred. The two kats stared at the sudden sight around them. Everything had changed. They were no longer standing in the city park. Rather, they were in the middle of a tropical rainforest!


	12. Chapter 12

"What is this place?"

Chance couldn't believe what he was seeing. How did tropical jungle end up in the middle of Megakat City? Sarita smiled.

"This is my Den Relm. It's like a 'pocket plane' in between the physical world, and the Umbra. I can't actually travel into the Umbra like Nakela and Sawgrass, but here, I can. This place is a reflection of my own spirit, created by my own Gnosis."

Chance looked back at the jaguar in confusion.

"Sar, you've lost me again."

Jake smirked.

"In other words, it's a manifestation of your own spirit, right?"

"That's the simple way of looking at it, but yes."

Jake nodded. It did make a little more sense due to the shifters being so spiritually connected to nature.

"That explains why it's a rainforest. Is this what your birth-place looked like?"

Sarita sighed, a little disheartened at the memory of the home she may never see again.

"Yes. I created this place to resemble the Amazon basin where I grew up."

Sawgrass flew off her shoulder and landed on a nearby branch, shaking out his feathers. He then cawed loudly.

"Too damn hot!"

The bird then took flight. He shimmered, and vanished. Chance and Jake watched the bird leave. It actually was fairly warm, and humid. Once the bird vanished, Chance turned back to Sarita.

"Where'd he go?"

"Back into the physical. Ravens are from cooler climates. He hates the tropics, unlike Nak and me."

Jake, who had been looking around at the lush plant life, glanced back over to the were-jaguar.

"Where is Nakela anyway?"

Sar shrugged.

"She's around here somewhere. Probably napping, since it's mid-day. Even though Mokole are children of the sun, she's what they call a Midnight Sun. We're both more nocturnal. Come, I'll take you to the tree-house. It's not far at all."

The sokto cat turned and began to walk down a path through the thick plants. Chance and Jake followed her. All around them, they could hear the sounds of birds and insects. Jake couldn't help wondering where all this life came from.

"Sarita, since this place is partly in the Spirit World, where did all the animals come from?"

"We don't follow the same rules as modern civilization. Most of these animals Nakela and I 'acquired' from various pet stores throughout the city. Sorry, but they belong here, not caged."

"You _stole _them?"

She stopped, turning to look at them, an emotionless look in her eyes and in her voice.

"We _freed _them."

She then turned, and continued walking in silence. After a few minutes, they came to a massive tree. All of the trees were large, towering into the sky like living sky scrapers, but this one had to be at least thirty feet in diameter! It was extremely wide, though only about three stories tall. Winding around the trunk was a natural 'stairway" formed right out of the tree itself. Sarita easily climbed these stairs, skipping every other step with her graceful movements.

The kats glanced at each other, wondering if they should actually try the climb or not. Jake shrugged, then followed the jaguar up the tree. After a moment, Chance shook his head, and followed as well.

They climbed about twenty-five feet up before the 'stairs' ended. A ring of wide branches extended out, forming a living floor in the 'house'. Aproximitely fifty feet in every direction, the branches curved up, meshing with more branches above, forming a natural wall and ceiling. Vines and air-plants wound around the walls and the thick ceiling branches. Several tropical birds were perched throughout the top of tree. And the view the tree offered was incredible. Chance stood at the edge of the open area of branches, looking out over the jungle.

"I gotta admit. This is beautiful. But if you created this pocket plane, why is the park itself changing?"

Sarita walked to the edge as well, and sat down leaning against the 'wall' of leaves and branches.

"Every piece of the physical world that my Den touches is affected by the magic of it. As I continue to increase my territory, you'll start to see the sounding areas of the city looking a bit cleaner as well."

"Spread it? I thought this was just a small area?"

"No. The distance of my Den is the same amount of distance of the physical world. It's currently the entire five square miles of the park itself, plus two additional city blocks on the southern edge of the park. There needs to be at _least _fifteen to twenty square miles for both Nakela and me to live naturally."

"Like the territory of an actual predator?"

"Exactly."

Jake had been walking around the massive tree-trunk in the center of the house. It was almost completely carved over with many strange symbols.

"Hey, Sarita. What do all these symbols mean?"

She glanced over at the smaller kat.

"Those are glyphs. They tell the Caliah."

"The what?"

"The Histories. The Lore of my kind, and of Nakela's. It tells of how Gaia created the Khara, the first Bastet, and of how my own tribe later came to be. It also tells of the war between Cahlash, Rahjah, and Nala."

"You _do _realize I don't know what these names mean?"

She smiled.

"The three forces that shaped our world, and continue to do so today. The same forces shaped this world too, but in a different way. And apparently, your world's version of Cahlash has _not _gone mad."

Chance continued to look out over the jungle. This place was amazing, but he was still worried about what was going on outside of it.

"I'm glad to see you're doing better, Hellcat. I guess Nakela was right about you needing to get back into more natural surroundings to heal."

Sarita then looked down sadly at the tabby's comment. Her voice became softer.

"It wasn't just that. It was Nakela. The Mokole have a Rite... a 'ritual', that can help the victims of extreme trauma to put it behind them. I still remember what happened, but it doesn't bother me anymore. It's now just another memory, like so many others."

As she spoke she absently rubbed a scar on her thigh. A set of four claw marks from a long-ago battle that nearly cost her and her were-tiger _brother _their very souls, let alone their lives. She had several such scars, many of them faded, all from deadly battles with powerful forces of Asura.

Chance looked curiously over at the warrior werecat.

"It seems you and that dragon are very close."

"Closer than you could ever know..."

He was glad to see that she was obviously doing better, but he still wasn't so sure if her mental state was fully healed. Regardless, he needed to know, now.

"Well, what about Angelida? Have you heard anything about what she is doing?"

"Sawgrass has told you everything he could find out at Nak's request. It took some time for me to heal enough before she could help me, and most of that time I spent creating this Den Relm. I imagine you now know more about her plans than I do. Though, it's time to remedy that."

She narrowed her eyes as she looked out over the jungle, a fierce fire in them. Chance knew that look. He'd seen it the very first time he'd met her. The warrior was definitely back. And none too soon. He hated to admit it, but they were going to need the jaguar's help to stop this vampire.

"Sawgrass mentioned that you don't plan to return to your own world. Is that true?"

She nodded solemnly.

"Since the death of my pride and the..." She paused. That was something they didn't need to know. She took a deep breath before continuing. "Angelida, Stephen, and Darian are all very powerful forces in service to the Asura. I know more about what they're capable of than any other. I know not if there even _is _a way for us to return home. And I doubt _they _plan to. Not with what they've been doing. I have a strong feeling that Angelida wants to stay and take over this city as her own. I _have _to stop her, regardless the consequences."

**. **

Viper had slowly grown more at ease with the strange creatures that now shared his swamp lair. He certainly feared and respected the vampire, but she never once threatened him in any way. In fact, the 'attention' she showed him made him even more nervous in another way, mainly because it was so unnatural, even for him! Although, she did seem genuinely interested in his experiments and creations. The two werewolves didn't seem to care much about him one way or the other. To them, he was simply another one of her 'pets', of which she apparently had many back on their own world who served her. But it was that black panther than really bothered him. Every time Ange wasn't looking, the panther made sure Viper knew to be careful. The big cat was obviously jelous of the attention the vampire was showing to him.

A little over a week had passed since the raid on the labs, and now Viper had finally managed to get the formula right for his newest mutations. As he worked on mixing another batch of the mutagens, he shivered slightly as he felt that familiar, eerie presence behind him. Ange leaned over the kat-snakes's shoulder, speaking softly.

'How much longer?"

"A few more daysssssss."

"Good. I can't wait to see how powerful these creatures of yours really are."

The vampire's face was so close to his neck, it was all Viper could do to stay calm. Ange obviously sensed his tension, and she grinned.

"Why so nervous, Doctor? I told you, I'll never hurt you. Hell, you might even _like _it."

She leaned in, and he just barely felt her sharp fangs brush over the scales of his neck. He shivered.

"I've sssseen you feed. I ssssseriousssly doubt I'd enjoy having my neck torn open."

She pulled back a bit, clearly amused.

"Oh please! When you've seen me feed, I was purposely trying to cause pain and fear in those kats. It makes the blood taste better. But with the Kiss, it can be quite pleasurable as well. Just as Darian..."

This caught Viper by surprise. She had fed on the were-panther? And he _enjoys _it? He shook his head. Then again...

"That panther of yoursssss issss Massssochissstic. He _enjoyssssss _pain!"

"That's true, but he also enjoys the pleasure I can give him. In more ways that one."

She leaned down close again, and again he felt her fangs against his neck. He also barely felt her tongue brush against his scales, and the coldness dryness from her lack of breath or body heat. It both excited and terrified him.

"Pleassssse Ange. I need to work if I'm to get thisssss done in time. The full moon issss in three dayssss. You sssssaid thatssss when you wanted it ready."

Ange stood up sharply, her eyes narrowed. He was right of course.

"Very well."

Without another word, she turned and walked out into the swamp. Viper sighed in relief, his body relaxing. After a moment, when he was sure she was gone, he continued with mixing the mutagens.


	13. Chapter 13

Jake and Chance spent about two hours in the Den Relm with Sarita. The tropical rainforest was a refreshing break from the massive city, but the heat and humidity was certainly more than they were used to. Sarita promised them that she and Nakela would help search out Angelida and try to figure out exactly what she was up to during the nights. She then took them back through the Gauntlet into the physical world. Once she returned back into her Den Relm, Sarita knew that she had work to do. Shifting to felis form, she ran deeper into her jungle. It didn't take long to reach the center of her small territory, and the open clearing she created there.

A circle of white stones about six feet in diameter were set on the bare ground. This was the most sacred place in her Den Relm. Four pillars of stone, each almost ten feet tall, stood exactly ten feet outside the circle at north, south, east and west. Glyphs and drawings were carved into these stones by the female shifters' own claws. Sarita then shifted up to her petite homid form and kneeled down in front of the northern pillar. On it was carved an image of a large winged and feathered serpent. Citlacoatl, her Jamak. Sarita offered a prayer to the Feathered Serpent King, slicing the palm of her right hand with her machete. The wound healed over within moments, but not before she squeezed several drops of her blood onto the dirt at the base of the stone.

Standing, she then walked into the center of the circle and slowly went down onto both knees. Closing her eyes, the Balam cleared her mind, and began to meditate. She had spent a lot of her Gnosis in the creation of her Den Relm. Now she needed to refresh herself. Her meditation lasted for four long hours. She never moved, never broke her concentration. Only when the sun began to set did she finally awaken from her trance. She felt herself now refreshed. Her mystical energy was stronger. Standing, she then walked back to her tree-house.

The sun was sinking low. From her vantage point in the tree-house, she could see it through the tangled branches. She made sure to leave enough space in the foliage to both the east and the west that she could see the rising and setting of the sun. She also left a clearing at the front of her tree so she could see the moon in the sky each night. Even in homid form, her senses were unnaturally sharp. She didn't have to see the other human woman, about an inch taller than her, to know she was walking up behind her.

Nakela wrapped her arms around the smaller woman's waist and leaned her head on her shoulder.

"You know, it's really too bad you're not supposed to have children. This would be a perfect place to raise kits. I wonder if it's even possible to breed with these kats?"

Sarita didn't react, she simply continued to stare off at the sunset. When she spoke, her voice was distant.

"For you, who knows. When the ancient Dragon Kings died off, your kind mated with humans. So maybe. For me..."

Nak smiled and nuzzled into Sar's shoulder, taking in the soft scent of tropical wildflowers in her auburn hair.

"Well... There's still that blessing from the Spirit that you told me about, isn't there?"

"Perhaps. But I would have to find the right male. There are no Kinfolk in this relm."

"True. What about that male jaguar at the zoo? He's a fairly good-sized cat. You would make pretty kits."

Sarita had to smirk at that one.

"I've been thinking about bringing him here once I get the Den Relm more established. But, I was thinking more about one of these kats..."

"I see... And.. a certain _one _in particular?"

Sar glanced back over her shoulder at the other woman, a curious expression in her ocean-blue eyes.

"If you're referring to who I think you are, the answer is a definite _no_."

Nak giggled softly and kissed Sar's neck.

"Why not? I know how you like..."

"Blackwater, I said 'no'. And anyway, so long as Mason and Devours-The-Unborn are out there, even this place is not safe for either of us to raise kits."

"Perhaps your right."

Nakela sighed. She knew the reason that Stephen had gained his Deed-Name. As long as he and Angelida had a territory nearby, it certainly wasn't safe for either of them to breed. She leaned her chin over Sarita's shoulder, running her hands lightly up the smaller woman's sides.

"Well, that still doesn't mean we can't a little fun though?"

Sarita shook her head.

"Nak, it's almost the full moon. You _do _remember what that means?"

Nakela pouted, then let go of Sar and took a step back.

"Yeah. The Madness. Let's hope you'll get a chance to focus it on Angelida when the time comes."

"We need to find out. That leech is up to something. I can feel it."

"I know. You've always had that 'sixth sense', as humans call it, to know when something bad's about to happen."

Sarita now turned around to face the slightly darker-skinned woman. She looked sternly into Nak's brown eyes.

"Are you ready to try your Gift?"

Nak nodded.

"Yes. I don't know how accurate it will be. So far everything seems to work about the same in this world as it does in ours."

"We still have to try."

.

Three hours later, Nakela sat on her knees in the center of the circle of stones. A clay bowl sat just outside the circle with herbs burning in it. Both of the female shifters were descended from human stock native to the Americas. Ritual was as big a part of their human ancestor's cultures as it was for the culture of their own were-beast tribes.

Another small bowl was set inside the circle just in front of Nakela. A small flame burned inside this bowl from a slow-burning oil extracted from one of the native plants Sarita had managed to conjure up in her Den Relm.

Chanting so softly that even the werecat who stood just outside the circle couldn't hear her with her keen ears, the homid-form Mokole held a bird's flight feather up in front of her face in her right hand. She then slowly lowered the bird feather down to the bowl. It caught fire, and began to burn into ashes. Sarita, also still in homid form, shivered involuntarily.

As the feather burned, Nakela concentrated, burning some of her gnosis to enact the magic of the Gift. The spirits seemed to favor her this night. Her eyes remained closed, but within her mind, a vision formed. A waking dream.

_The moon was full and bright overhead, the night clear. The streets of Megakat City were empty. No-one dared go out after dark anymore. Two shadowy shapes stood in the street. Nakela couldn't make them out, but they were about the same size and shape of humans, or kats. One though, seemed vaguely reptilian. She turned around, and that's when she saw the creatures. Dozens of them._

_They were the size of dogs, but they certainly weren't anything she had seen in her memories, or her own life. They reminded her of formori, though these were clearly animalistic. She turned back to the two figures. The lighter-built one removed her helmet. It was the Blood-Devil herself!_

_Then she heard the battle. Sarita, in crinos form, was battling the strange creatures. They were too many for the warrior-cat, but the moon was full and the Madness overwhelmed her. Then she saw the large black shape above. It was too big to be Sawgrass, even in Crinos form. After a moment, the image became clearer. A black jet. She and Sarita wouldn't be fighting alone. But neither was the Blood-Devil. The other three Fallen Bete were there._

_The image shifted. The streets were red. The dawn shown dimly through heavy clouds. Blood and corpses littered the streets..._

Nakela gasped as her eyes suddenly opened wide. The visions were usually very vague. This one however, was far more clear. She was breathing hard.

Sarita jumped slightly as Nakela woke up so quickly.

"Nak? What happened? What did you see?"

"The full moon. That's when it will happen. Angelida and her pack. I saw... something.. someone else. I think it may be this Dr. Viper that the kats mentioned. And there were these... _things_. They looked like animal formori. I've never seen anything like them. Not even in mnesis."

"Then what? What happened?"

"A battle. The Madness took you. You released it on the creatures. The kats were there too in their jet. Then the dark Bete appeared. I didn't see what happened after that. But I saw the dawn. All was red with blood and the air stank of death."

Sarita took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. She hated the Madness. It was something she had been born with. But if it was released on her enemies, no Asrua could stop her rage until the slaughter was over. She just had to make sure her allies stayed well clear of her when the time came.

"Nakela, the corpses... did you see who?"

She shook her head slowly.

"It was too blurred."

"Damn."

The pair then fed, Nakela catching some fish for them in the lake. Nakela's vision showed a fierce battle, and they didn't know what would happen as a result. They spent the earlier part of the night preparing themselves, both physically and mentally, for what might lay ahead.

As midnight drew nearer, they prepared for their search. Nakela remained in the Umbra, while Sarita took her felis form to prowl the dark allies of the city. Meeting up with Sawgrass, the bird filled them in on everything he knew about the most recent killings. The trio split up for their search.

Four hours later, the stench of Asura filled the jaguar's nostrils. She quickly climbed to the roof of a low building and began to run, leaping from roof-top to roof-top, toward the scent. She was too late. Ange and her pack were already feeding on the two corpses. Some kats were still dumb enough to venture out late at night. Gang members judging by the shredded clothing and the pair of large discarded handguns. All Sarita could do was watch, her ears pinned back and her eyes full of hate. She was too late to stop them, and too out-numbered to fight them.

Below, the larger of the two wolves suddenly jerked his head up, his ears pricked.

'Shit.'

Sarita ducked low on the ledge, trying not to be seen. Stephen turned his head up, and stared straight at her! He snarled, then gave a fierce howl. The others all looked up.

'SHIT!'

Sarita did the only other thing she could do now. She _ran_!

'Come on, Nak! Where are you?"

She could hear the snarling. They were chasing her. She risked a glance behind her. Chigger and Ange were both closing fast. The jaguar was fast, but the Dancer and the vampire were both faster. But... they couldn't fly! No-way was Sarita going to let that bitch Asura-spawn catch her this time! Her meditation had increased her gnosis, and the waxing moon had brought her magic to full strength.

Sarita extended her claws, using them like cleats as she pushed her body to it's limit. She ran recklessly toward the edge of the roof, then lept. A pair of large, rainbow-colored feathered wings spread from her feline shoulders. She flapped the wings hard, taking her up into the air. Below her, she could hear the howls and roars of rage. The winged cat, now a considerable distance away from her pursuers, looked down with a dark grin on her feline face. She hissed, and Darian pinned his ears as he understand her 'words'. Basically, translated as _Fuck you_!

Turning, she flew quickly back to the park. In the morning, she would have Sawgrass tell Jake and Chance what she saw, and of Nakela's vision.


	14. Chapter 14

"Bahati! Behind you!"

The white-furred werecat spins around quickly, slashing at the bane with her spear. The powerful fetish slices into the creature, severing it's lower jaw. Bahati then leaps up, spreading her feathered wings as she flys to a branch some fifteen feet up. The bane snarls at her, but a large chatro jaguar charges the beast from the front. Not missing the opportunity, Bahati folds her wings tight and jumps back down, driving her spear deep into the creature's spine.

"What do you think I am Tommy? Blind?"

"Heh. _Yeah_!"

She smiles, her milky-white eyes focusing on nothing. Her keen ears swiveled and her whiskers twitched, as even the slightest sound or change in the air alerted her to what her eyes could not see. The albino then lept agiley off the now dead bane, landing lightly on the ground beside the saber-tooth. The big orange-furred cat snarled.

"You could have left me at least _some _fun, sis!"

She turned her head sharply, her ears pricked forward.

"Looks like you still will."

The chatro turns to look in the direction his metis sister indicated.

A few yards away, the male crinos Balam grinned as he ejected the nearly spent magazine of his gun, then slapped a new one in.

"Alright! Dakat! Time to rock and roll!"

A group of nearly a dozen hideously deformed formori cut their way through the thick underbrush of the jungle. The trio of werecats stood ready. The albino suddenly went rigid, her whiskers trembling.

"Balefire! Watch it!"

The three lept aside as a blast of sickly green fire erupted form the flame-thrower held by one of the formori. Landing on his side on the ground, Tommy fired the Uzi at the formor.

"Fucking bastard! Burn _my _forest will you!"

Bahati jumped up into the trees, using her wings to take her up several yards into the branches. She held her arms up and turned her face skyward, then began to chant in the dialect of the native tribe who raised her.

"Children of Tzinzie, I call to you! Come to my aid tiny ones, and show these Dakat that those of this forest stand strong together!"

A buzzing sound began to fill the air as thousands of small insects, flys and mosquitoes, swarmed around the formori. Cúrri, the chatro Balam, charged the group of formori. His powerful claws and vicious fangs ripped into two of the creatures as another two were blown apart by Tommy's gun. One particularly large formor broke away from the group and charged the male crinos. Tommy aimed his gun at the monster but all he heard was a clicking as his mag was again empty.

"Shit!"

Tossing aside the gun, he jumped aside, narrowly avoiding the slashing claws of the huge formor.

"Little help here, Bahati!"

The albino turned in the direction of the large formor then held out her spear, the end pointed toward the monster. The formor then burst into flames. It opened it's jaws wide and gave out a deafening roar.

"Eat this!"

Tommy grabbed a grenade off the ammo belt around his chest and pulled the pin, tossing it into the formor's open jaws. He hit the ground as the beast exploded in a fireball.

"Whoa! _That _had to hurt!"

His long fangs dripping with black blood, the chatro shot a cold glare at his pride-brother as chunks of flaming debris scattered around for several yards, a few almost hitting him.

"You dumb shit!"

Bahati shook her head at her brothers, the thin mane of silvery hair falling loosely over her shoulders.

"Quit arguing and fight!"

She kneeled down and placed her hands against the tree-branch she was standing on. Closing her eyes, she focused on the forest around her. A loud hissing filled the air as a heavy moisture began to put out the small fires before they could spread. It wasn't long before the last of the formori were all destroyed. Each alone, they would have been difficult for the cats, but the trio were a united force, despite their bickering.

Spreading her wings, she glided lightly to the ground. Tommy and Cúrri walked over to her. The crinos had retrieved his gun and was carrying it with the barrel resting on his shoulder.

"Nice work there, little sister."

She nodded slowly, then looked around, her other senses taking in everything around her that her eyes couldn't. She sniffed the air lightly.

"I'll need to perform a cleansing rite here. This place now stinks of the Dakat and Asura."

The chatro growled, speaking in the werecat language.

"Wouldn't stink so bad if _somebody _didn't have a habit of blowing things up all the time!"

"Hey! It worked, didn't it?"

Bahati just sighed.

"Will you two _please _stop arguing all the time. I swear, I don't know how mother kept her sanity with you."

The two male Balam both laughed softly at the comment.

.

Twin-Tree dropped down to one knee. She didn't realize exactly how difficult the travel would be. But thankfully, the Moon-Bridge had apparently taken her to the right place. She looked up, her ears pricked forward.

"Well, this definitely looks like the Amazon. I just hope this is the right territory."

Standing slowly, the red-furred Garou made her way carefully through the thick rainforest. The jungle was teeming with life, and she kept having the eerie feeling that she was being watched. After almost two hours of walking, she stopped dead in her tracks as a black shadow flashed in the trees ahead. Twin-Tree gulped, trying to hold in her fear. She'd heard many stories of the fierce creatures that dwelt within the Amazon jungle. Gathering her courage, she yelled out for any to hear.

"Hello? Please, I am looking for the Pride of the Shadowed Hearts!"

"_Dogs _are not welcome here!"

Twin-Tree spun around at the sound of the voice. Looking up, she saw a large male Balam in crinos form standing on a thick branch several yards above her. He had an ammo belt across his chest with grenades and throwing knives on it, a large blade strapped to his left hip, and an Uzi in his right hand.

"Please, I mean no harm."

"Then get out of here before harm finds _you_!"

She was about to speak again before a vicious snarling to her left caught her attention. Turning her head, she was a massive chatro-form Balam. His powerful claws were extended, and his razor-sharp fangs were bared in a fierce snarl. Fear gripped the young Garou as she thought that the two Balam would tear her apart before she even had a chance to explain herself. But then she heard another voice. Soft and gentle, and feminine.

"Cúrri, Tommy, please calm yourselves. Let us see what this young Garou wishes to tell us."

Twin-Tree's jaw dropped at the sight of the female werecat. She had been told that the metis Bastet was something to be feared, a abomination to all shifters for being not only metis, but a half-breed of two tribes. But what the Garou in fact saw, was a beautiful creature with snow-white fur and silvery hair. Her sightless eyes were milky white and a pair of silver-tipped white wings sprouted from her shoulders. Her markings were neither jaguar spots nor tiger stripes, but rather a silvery marbled pattern like that of a clouded leopard.

"Are... Are you Akis-Bahati? The daughter of Sarita de Sangre?"

The white Bastet nodded.

"I am. And these are my brothers, Akin-Cúrri, and Tommy Far-Thunder. Tell me, what do you know of my mother? And what is it that you wish of us?"

Twin-Tree relaxed a little. The cat's voice was soft and soothing, nothing at all like her warrior mother.

"My name is Sarah Twin-Tree, Fianna ragabash of the BackWater pack from Florida. Your mother was an ally to us, as well as the Mokole, Blackwater. We helped them against the vampire, Angelida Mason."

"I know of this Mason. And of her allies."

The Garou nodded.

"We were fighting the leech and her Wyrm-spawn servants, but something terrible happened. The sky churned and grew dark. Sarita and Blackwater, along with the Corax, Sawgrass, were pulled up into the Vortex. So was Angelida and three of her Fallen ones."

The two male Balam were shocked at the news, but the albino female remained calm.

"Which ones?"

"Stephen Devours-the-Unborn, Darian ShadowClaw, and Chigger, the Black Spiral Dancer."

The Bastet simply nodded as she considered what Twin-Tree told her.

"Come with me."

She turned and walked into the forest. Twin-Tree hesitated, then followed after the white crinos. Tommy jumped down out of the tree and then he & Cúrri followed as well.


	15. Chapter 15

Chance grumbled as he heard the now-familiar knocking sound outside the garage. It was still somewhat early in the morning as he walked to the door.

"Sawgrass, I swear I'm gonna pluck you bald if you keep that crud up!"

The raven cawed loudly as he flew though the door as soon as Chance opened it. The tabby knew this time to duck from the large black wings. The bird was a real pain-in-the-tail, but he was still useful. The Corax flew over to land on a workbench, sending tools clattering to the floor as he landed. Chance pinned his ears back in irritation and glared at the bird. Jake glanced over to his friend as he walked toward the raven.

"Calm down, Chance. What's up, Sawgrass?"

"Hellcat find leech! Two more dead. Too late to stop. They find her, and chase. She get away."

The bird them made a sound that was something like a cross between cawing and laughter.

"They forget jaguars fly! She get away!"

That caught both the kats off guard. Chance especially.

"Huh? What the heck do you mean 'jaguars can fly'?"

"It Gift from ancestor-spirits. Long ago, jaguars had wings. Could fly too. Hellcat got Gift from ancestor spirits. Bright colored wings! Good Gift to swipe, but what point?"

The bird laughed again. Chance just sighed. He was never going to get over the constant surprises of these three.

"Okay, so she magically grew a pair of wings, and flew away from Angelida and her shifters. Then what?"

"She send me here, tell you of Blackwater's vision."

Now Jake spoke up again.

"What kind of vision?"

"She go into trance and see vision of future. Tomorrow night. Full moon. Big trouble from blood-sucker. Many creatures. Horrible creatures, like animal formori. BIG battle! Then, she see next morning. Lot of blood and death."

"Oh crud! And this happens tomorrow night? Is she sure?"

"Duh! I just say tomorrow night!"

Chance's hand was clenched in a fist and Jake had to step in between him and the bird.

"Alright, so tomorrow night. Any idea where?"

"No say! Just empty street at full moon! Sheesh!"

The bird cawed and flapped his wings, sending more tools and smaller vehicle parts scattering off the table onto the floor. He then flew off back out the door. Chance glared after the raven.

"One of these days I swear I'm gonna barbeque that bird!"

"I don't think Sarita and Nakela would appreciate that, Chance. And anyway, he's a shifter too. He can take that large war form like the girls can, we've just not seen him do it yet."

"Yeah, well who says I'd give him enough time to do so..."

"Alright. Well, maybe we should go see the girls and get a better idea of what Nakela's vision was about."

"Good idea. But if it's supposed to happen tomorrow, I say we wait a little later in the afternoon when it's cooler out."

"Heh. Her Den is a rainforest. It's going to be hot and humid no matter what time of day it is."

**. **

After checking the Turbokat and Cyclotrons to make sure they would be fully ready for whatever was supposed to happen tomorrow night, the two kats headed toward the park around 5pm. It took a little over a half hour to get there. The sun was low but it would still be a few more hours until dark. They didn't know if or how Sarita would know they were there, but as they walked deeper into the trees they somehow felt that she did. Sure enough, once they had gone completely out of sight, the were-jaguar appeared.

There was a difference in her now. A dark fire seemed to burn in her eyes and there was a coldness in her voice when she spoke. Even in sokto form, there was something frighteningly predatory about the she-cat and even Jake and Chance, as used to bad situations as they were, each took a few steps back as soon as they saw her. Her ears were pinned and her tail lashed. Her muscles were tensed beneath the short fur and her claws & fangs seemed even sharper.

"I sent Sawgrass to let you know what's going on. Why did you come here?"

They wondered what had happened to make her so angry, and the memory of the vicious fight with Nakela made them more wary. Chance finally took a step forward.

"That bird can't seem to give any straight answers so we thought we'd come to try and find out more about Nakela's vision."

She sighed and shook her head, the auburn locks swishing over her cold eyes as she did.

"Fine. Come on."

She held out her hands and the guys cautiously took them. She then took them through the Gauntlet into the tropical rainforest of her Den Relm. Once inside, Sar pulled her hands away and turned, shifting to felis form and quickly disappearing into the jungle. Chance groaned slightly as she left, but was also a little more relieved.

"Wonder what the heck got into her."

"It's the full moon."

They turned around at the voice. Nakela stood behind them in her homid form. Her clothing had changed now to dark blue jeans, a light green sleeveless half-shirt that exposed her midriff, and a denim vest. They both couldn't help but notice she was actually fairly pretty for not being a kat.

"What about the full moon?" Jake asked.

"It's called 'Moon Madness'. Some Bastet suffer from it. During the full moon, they are filled with Luna's Rage and the slightest provocation will set them off. It's _really _best to keep your distance from her during this time. The nightmares have already started."

"Nightmares?"

"Yeah. Every month when the moon waxes to full, she had dreams of walking through a barren landscape full of bodies, the blood of friend and foe alike on her claws."

Chance sighed. This was not good.

"So what does that mean for tomorrow night?"

"I means we stay _out _of her way, and Gaia help those who stand against her! In my vision I saw you two fighting in your jet. I recommend you stay there and off the street."

Nakela went on to explain her vision to the best that she could and the three planned out what they would do to try and search for the vampire and Dr. Viper tomorrow. After about an hour of planning, they decided it was time to go.

"This is Sarita's Den Relm, so I don't think I can take you through the Gauntlet like she can. Only she can step though the Gauntlet of her own accord, and only here. The Garou have cut the rest of the Bete off long from the Umbra long ago, so we had to learn how to cross through via Gifts taught from the Spirits, and each other. "

Chance didn't like the sound of that.

"Great. So now we have to go find the psychotic jaguar again to get out of here?"

"I'm afraid so. Wait here."

She turned and ran off into the forest. Chance sat down on a nearby boulder, his forearms resting on his knees.

"I'm not so sure of this, bud. If that cat goes nuts again, this time in the middle of the city, who knows what kind of carnage she could do."

"Yeah, I know that too. But if Angelida and Viper are going to send out whatever those mutations are that Nak saw, then her power might be an asset. But still, if any innocent kats get too close, we could have a serious problem. And especially if the Enforcers show up."

"Heh. Yeah. Bad enough dealing with Feral on the issues of the normal omegas around here. He'll probably try to blame us for the insane werecat and feathered dragon loose in the city."

Jake had to laugh slightly at that one.

"Even so, Nak said that she wants to keep herself and Sarita a secret. This is not going to make that easy. Although, somehow their kind has managed it on their world for the past several centuries."

"So she says."

"Well, as soon as the Enforcers find out about the creatures, they're going to be all over it. Nak at least will probably have the sense to hide when that happens, but if Sarita does go mad, there's nothing that'll be able to stop her."

"Yeah, I remember that. She and Nak almost killed each other."

"An unfortunate side-effect of the fact that we Killi are full of Nature's Rage."

They turned at the cold voice. Sar was walking toward them with Nakela.

"So you're ready to go now?"

Chance stood up and Jake inadvertently took a few steps back. Chance watched the jaguar carefully as she approached.

"Yes. And we won't be coming back here during the full moon again. You can rest assured on that one."

"Good. Then let's go."

She took them back through the Gauntlet, vanishing again the instant they released her hands.


	16. Chapter 16

The sun was setting. Tonight was the night. Chigger moved slowly through the Penumbra near the center of the city. He knew he had to be close. ShadowClaw had said that he suspected the Hellcat and dragon had made their lair at the large park in the center of Megakat City. Rounding another building, he could now see the trees. The park had apparently been there a long time, for it had a strong footprint in the Umbra. Even though the Hellcat couldn't cross the Gauntlet, he knew that the dragon and Corax both could, so he moved cautiously.

It took nearly ten minutes before he finally found the lake. Moving carefully toward it's shore, he looked around, his long ears pricked.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are! I just want to talk!"

A splashing caught it attention. The water in the lake began to ripple, then a pair of large ivory horns rose out of the water. The horns rose up three feet before the rest of the head began to emerge. His tail tucked, Chigger backed up several feet from the large Mokole. The massive feathered head rose out of the lake, and the pair of slitted golden eyes glared down at the tiny crinos. Chigger's ears went back, and he about pissed himself. He's never been this close to the dragon before, except for a couple weeks ago when she nearly took his head off with one swipe of her claws. Thankfully, he managed to jump aside just in time. The Mokole snarled down at the werewolf.

"What are _you _doing here, mutt!"

He whined. He _really _didn't want to be the one doing this! Chigger gulped, trying to moisten his throat enough to speak again.

"Angelida sends me with a message. You three are to meet her at the old abandoned litter factory at the edge of the city at midnight. Hellcat has to come too. You don't show, she takes her newest 'pets' to the streets! Lots of these stupid kats will die!"

Nakela snarled, baring her long teeth set in the powerful reptilian jaws. The small Dancer shrunk down even more.

"Tell your master than we'll be there! Now GO!"

Chigger shifted to his lupus form and tore off at a dead run. Nakela wrinkled her nose and raked a massive clawed hand over the dirt, covering the yellow puddle he left behind.

**. **

The full moon overhead in the clear sky made for great night visibility. The Turbokat flew high overhead, circling the ruins of the old factory. The last time the SWAT Kats were here, things didn't go too well. They were lucky to have gotten out before the place blew. They both hoped that the shifters would also be as lucky. T-Bone angled the jet as he circled overhead.

"I don't see any movement down there. Are your scanners picking up anything?"

"Negative. Wait a minute... Two heat readings approaching the building. Looks like it may be Sarita and Nakela."

"Yeah, I think you're right. There's that flying feather-duster over there!"

Razor looked up to where T-Bone pointed and saw the small black shape flying not too far away. It was definitely Sawgrass. The bird circled low over the building as the pair of figures below, one human, one large feline, made their way through the shadows.

"Oh crud. There's a single heat reading inside now."

"How big?"

"Kat-sized."

"The vampire?"

"No, she wouldn't show up. No body-heat, remember?"

"Oh, right."

"I don't like this, T-Bone. It's gotta be a trap."

"I know. And I'm sure so do they. But what choice do we have?"

"Not much. But... What the...? T-Bone! Look!"

The big tabby looked to the left, and saw the massive creatures flying swiftly toward them.

"Whoa! What the heck are those things?"

"I don't know, but they're big, and they're heading this way, _fast_!"

Over a dozen large bat-like creatures, each with a wingspan of nearly ten feet, were flying swiftly towards the Turbokat. The jet banked hard to avoid the swarm. Several began to screech, a loud ear-splitting sound that began to crack the thick glass canopy of the jet.

"Aw crud!"

"They _are _bats! Viper must have mutated them! T-Bone, you've got to stay clear of their sonar!"

"No kidding! Hang on!"

He pulled the jet up sharply, flying straight up and gaining some distance on the mutated bats. Once they had a fair amount of distance, he angled the jet back down and dove again. Razor lowered his targeting visor.

"Let's see how _they _like it! Banshee missiles... Deploy!"

The pair of missiles fired toward the group of bats. The sonic pitch was released at the large creatures. They began to scream and the swam scattered away from the ear piercing sound.

"Bingo!

"Heh, looks like you _finally _got those things working right!"

"Yeah, but they've scattered, and there's too many of them for just the two missiles. Uh oh. Three of them coming in at 7 O'clock!"

"Got 'em!"

He turned the jet to the right away from the trio of bats as Razor armed the cement machine gun. The gun fired, covering two of the bats in heavy liquid cement. They fell to the pavement far below.

"Two down, twelve to go."

**. **

Sarita opened her jaws and lifted her lips in a grimace, tasting the air with padaa. The place stank of corruption.

_They're close._

Nakela held the large hunting knife in her right hand. The two shifters weren't sure what they were going to face. Nak looked up, her brown eyes scanning the sky. She caught the outline of the black fighter jet silhouetted against the night sky above. Looking forward again, the two quickly made their way across the dark parking lot of the ruined factory. It appeared as if part of the inside of the building had exploded at some point. When they reached the door, Sarita scented around for a moment, then shook her head to Nak. The homid carefully pushed open the door, and it fell off the top hinge as she did so.

The big chatro cat carefully walked in first, the homid beside and just behind her. Nak was glad that the old building was so open. She couldn't stand tight spaces. A cawing caught their attention as Sawgrass flew down through the large hole in the collapsed ceiling and land on Nak's shoulder. They then heard a soft laughing from the darkness ahead.

"So, you three actually _did _come."

The three shifters glared hatefully at the vampire. Standing beside her, was the figure that Nakela had seen in her vision. Dr. Viper looked at the large golden-furred saber-tooth and backed up a few steps. Something about her was very wrong.

A large black shape walked out of the darkness. The crinos panther kneeled down beside Angelida, looking at the other shifters. He narrowed his eyes. He also felt uneasy.

Sarita began to stalk forward, Nak a few feet from her left side. The homid held an experienced grip on the large knife.

"Alright Angelida. We're here. Now what exactly did you have in mind for us?"

The vampire smiled, then shrugged casually.

"Oh, just a little 'test'. The good Doctor here is quite the biologist. I want to see what his _creations _are capable of.

As she stepped out of the shadows and into the light of the full moon coming in through the collapsed roof, Darian could now see what the deal was with Sarita. Her shimmering fur was bristling, her muscles bunched and tight beneath it, as if she would explode into action at any possible moment. Her lips were curled in a vicious snarl and the moonlight cast an eerie red glow in her dark blue eyes. Her claws were fully extended and made a soft clicking on the stone ground as she walked. And there was a trace of foam at the edges of her mouth as her breathing became deep and hard. The panther gasped as realization hit him.

"Oh shit! The full moon was a bad idea, Ange!"

"Why? That's when your strength is the fullest. And you told me that the Hellcat wouldn't be as strong after what you did to her?"

"I didn't think she would be! But she's Moon-Mad! Some Bastet are! The full moon turns them into thoughtless killing machines at the slightest provocation!"

"Crap."

Viper _really _didn't like the sound of that. Ange just narrowed her eyes at the cat.

"Viper... if you please..."

He nodded, then reached down and pulled open the old grate through which they had entered the building. As he stepped back, over two dozen large mutated rats, each about the size of a large dog, swarmed out of the hole.

"Attack them my petsssss!"

Nakela gasped. These were the creatures she saw in her vision. The Mokole quickly sheathed her knife, then lept back away from the jaguar. The raven cawed and flew off her shoulder, heading for the roof of the building. Nakela shifted forms, growing to her massive Archid shape. Viper stared in disbelief as the small woman was now a large feathered dinosaur! What the Hell had he gotten himself into?

The giant rat-creatures swarmed quickly toward them, but she knew there was more. Nak turned her head to the side. That's when she saw the pair of Garou. Roaring so loudly that large chunks of stone fell from the ruined ceiling and walls, the dragon lept at the pair with jaws wide and claws extended. The two-foot razor-like claws on her feet, like those of a giant velociraptor, were extended up, ready to slash.

Chigger was not about to face the large dragon, and he took off back into the shadows. Stephen was fully ready for the dragon's attack. Even though Nakela's strong hit connected to the Garou, her claws failed to rip too deeply into him as he spun out of the way too quickly. He lunged in, slashing at her chest with his powerful claws. Nakela screamed as four large gashes burned through her feathers and into her flesh. His claws were silver!

She stepped back and lunged her head forward, snapping with the powerful jaws. He slashed again, his claws tearing across the side of her jaws, but not before she clamped down on his other arm. With a flick of her lead, the power of her strong neck and shoulders tossed the crinos Garou several yards. Ange merely stood where she was, watching. As strong as the dragon was, she wasn't the one that the vampire was worried about. Viper cringed as the massive saber-toothed jaguar seemed to fill with an other-worldly madness. She was tearing his creations to pieces, and they barely managed to damage her! Her coarse coat was covered in thin red streaks, but nothing was deep enough to have any affect on her!

"Enough of this."

Ange drew her hand-gun, and aimed at the cat. She fired off four rounds, three of them hitting the Balam. The other one slammed into one of the giant rats.

"Oops. What the... why the Hell isn't it affecting her? The bullets are silver!"

Darian watched the fierce, bloody battle.

"She isn't even feeling them, Ange! She's raged into madness! Only a perfect kill shot can stop her! If you're lucky! She's too strong right now!"

Stephen stood up, gripping his bleeding arm. He looked first at the dragon, then at the fierce Balam.

"Fuck this! I'm not facing any damned insane jaguar!"

The Crinos Garou turned, and shifted to lupus, running off into the shadows.


	17. Chapter 17

Ange turned as the werewolf fled.

"Shit. I think it's time we got out of here too."

The large Mokole turned and snarled at the vampire. Ange fired a few more rounds of her gun and the dragon screamed out in pain from the silver bullets, but still she charged. Viper decided that the wolf had the right idea and jumped quickly down through the open grate. Darian grabbed Ange's arm with a massive clawed hand.

"Come on! Let's get the Hell out of here!"

The vampire jerked her arm away from the Bastet then jumped down the hole as well. Darian lept quickly out of the way as Nakela's powerful jaws snapped shut where he just was. The cat hissed, and a dark glow consumed his hands. Then, everything around the panther and the dragon turned to blackness. Nak quickly backed up out of the unnatural darkness. She hissed, a cold reptilian sound rather like an alligator. The vampire and her Fallen shifters had escaped!

****

.

The power was increased to the Turbokat's thrusters as T-Bone tried to keep away from the giant mutant bats and their dangerous sonic screeches. Razor's banshee missiles managed to severely disorient most of the creatures, but they were recovering fast and trying to attack the jet again. T-Bone glanced behind him as several of the creatures began rapidly flying towards them again. He had to keep at least fifty yards distance to avoid taking more damage from their screeches, but that was the extent of the cement gun's range.

"Crud! We've got to find some way to stop these things! Any more bright ideas, Razor?"

"Bright..? That's it! These things are nocturnal! They can't handle bright light! T-Bone, line us up with them and use the anti-glare visor!"

"Roger that! Hang on!"

He increased the power to the thrusters and rapidly gained distance between them and the bats. Once he was sure they had enough room,T-Bone turned the jet around, and flew directly toward the mutations. Both kats lowered the visors on their helmets. Razor aimed right for the heart of the swarm.

"Okay, Flashbulb missiles... Deployed!"

Three missiles fired, heading straight at the bats. The ends of the missiles opened, and they released a blinding flash of light. The bats all shrieked out in pain, and began to fall from the sky, completely blinded.

"Bingo!"

T-Bone glanced to the right at a small group of choppers heading in their direction.

"Perfect. He come the Enforcers. Well, they can handle the clean-up! Razor, any sign of the girls?"

"I can see Nakela and Sarita on the infrared, still inside the building. Not much else though, and Nak's in human form. Take us over the hole in the roof."

The jet turned and flew back to the old ruined factory. Once they passed over the building, T-Bone shut off the main thrusters and put the jet into hover. They could clearly see the chatro Balam below them. Sarita was laying on her side in the middle of a large mass of blood and corpses, all torn completely apart to the point where the kats couldn't tell what they had been. The large feline though, wasn't moving. Nakela was kneeling down beside her. Razor gasped.

"Oh crud! We've got a big problem!"

"Yeah, I see that! We've got to get her on board! And quickly before the Enforcers find her!"

"Right. Lowering the megawinch."

The large three-pronged winch lowered from the jet down to the saber-toothed jaguar. Nakela stood up and took a few steps back. The large prongs closed slowly, gripping onto the cat, then began to lift her up. Nakela grabbed the cable and held on, keeping her feet on the top of the winch's 'claws', careful not to stand on the cat herself. As soon as they were inside the Turbokat's cargo bay, Razor closed the doors.

"Okay, they're in. Let's get out of here!"

Switching from the vertical thrusters back to the main ones, the black jet took off quickly away from the bloody scene and back to the salvage yard, making a wide circle around the Enforcer choppers.

****

.

"DAMNIT!"

Angelida punched the side of the sewer tunnel, causing large chunks of stone to shatter off from the impact of her fist. Viper, Chigger, and Darian all backed up several feet from the angry vampire. Only Stephen didn't move, his expression impassive.

"Curse that bitch of a jaguar and her feathered companions! I thought for sure we had them this time!"

She turned to face Darian, her eyes glowing red and her tail lashing angrily. Her fangs and claws were fully extended and she had a fearsome aura to her.

"How in Hell was she able to fight like that? You assured me that her spirit would have been broken!"

The were-panther gulped. Ange rarely ever directed her anger at him. He may have been larger and, technically, stronger, but he knew well what she was capable of when she went into frenzy.

"I didn't know she suffered from Moon-Madness! Every full moon, an afflicted cat is filled with rage, and can go into an uncontrolled frenzy at the slightest provocation. Regardless of what mood they're in. At any other time, I'm sure we could have defeated her with minimal effort."

This didn't seem to help Ange's mood one bit. She snarled viciously, then turned toward Viper.

"Those creatures weren't big enough. They need to be larger and stronger, with more formidable natural weaponry!"

Viper took a few more steps back. He was wary of the vampire when she was completely calm. Now she was on the verge of madness like the jaguar, and he was terrified.

"I can make them larger, but it will require a different Katalyssssst. And I'm out of the firssssst one! I can't make more!"

The vampire growled, and punched the wall again, not quite as hard this time. Only a few smaller chunks of stone were dislodged. But she seemed to calm down a bit.

"Fine. You four go back to the swamp. I'm paying a visit to the Biochemical Lab."

Darian's jaw dropped.

"Alone? Ange, are you sure you can..."

"I SAID GO! I _can _handle myself against mortals, Darian!"

He shrank back from his lover. He knew she was right, but he still worried for her safety. She was very reckless at times, and her rage right now made her even worse. Still, he knew better than to argue.

****

.

Once the lift was up and locked, the two kats went quickly to the jet's cargo bay. Sarita was still breathing at least, but her fur was so covered in blood and gore that it looked more a dark blackish-red than gold, the spots barely even visible. Nakela knelt down by Sar's head, her own arms, legs and torso covered in blood. Some of it was her's some of it wasn't. Because her clothing shifted with her, the green shirt was still in tact, but the kats could see the four deep red lines, each over an inch wide, soaking through from the painful wounds underneath. She also had a bleeding bullet wound in her left shoulder, and another in her right thigh. Still, she looked in better shape than the unconscious werecat.

Razor moved quickly over to the manual winch controls while T-Bone kneeled down beside Sarita, looking over her wounds. The blood was so thick he couldn't even tell where she was injured.

"How bad is she?"

Nakela shook her head, her voice soft as she tried to hide the pain of her own wounds.

"Not as bad as she looks. Most of this blood isn't hers. Those creatures were vicious, but they weren't strong enough to do much damage through her thick chatro hide. Those wounds have already all healed over. It's the bullet wounds that's the problem. Angelida uses silver bullets in her gun."

"Silver? Are you kidding?"

"No. Silver is very harmful to all shifters, save the Corax. We Mokole are of both the sun and the moon, but Corax are of the sun only, so they're not harmed by the 'moon-metal'. Gold however, is very harmful to both of us, but has no effect on the others."

T-Bone had delt with enough over the past two weeks of knowing the shifters that this didn't surprise him much. He was starting to get used to their constant 'surprises'.

"Okay, so if we can get out the bullets, she'll heal normally then. Hey Razor! Ready with the winch?"

"Yeah! Back up."

T-Bone and Nak both stood up and backed away from the bay doors. Razor hit the button to open the large pair of doors on the underside of the jet, then carefully lowered Sarita down onto the steel cart underneath that they used to move the larger missiles and other heavy equipment. Once her full weight was on the cart, he released the winch's grip on her and retracted it back into the jet. Then he, T-Bone, and Nakela carefully pulled the cart, with the heavy saber-tooth on it, off to a semi-empty corner of the hangar. It took all three of them to move her half-ton weight off the cart and onto the floor, though T-Bone had to do most of the work. In human form, Nak really wasn't very strong, and it was too cramped for her to shift.

Nak looked over her friend.

"Okay, now for the bullets."

Razor noticed her slight wince of pain as she spoke.

"No, yours first. If the rest of Sarita's wounds have already healed, then she can wait a little longer for the last ones. Yours are worse."

Nak shot a look at the smaller kat and was about to argue, but both of them stood looking at her with the same expression. She sighed.

"Fine."


	18. Chapter 18

Despite thier extreme strength and toughness, not to mention healing ability, in thier other forms, Nakela's human form was as fragile as a normal kat's. Perhaps even more-so. Jake carefully managed to extract the two bullets, which it turned out really _were_ made of pure silver. It took over half an hour before all of Nakela's wounds were cleaned and bandaged. She had to borrow one of Jake's shirts since her own was so badly soaked in blood.

They then worked to clean the blood and gore from Sarita. Jake took a sample of the strange blackish flesh out of her fur. He'd try to find a way to get it to Dr. Konway later for examination. The strange part, was that even though Nak swore Sarita had been hit at least twice with silver bullets, they coulnd't find any wounds. No bullet holes, no scrathces, no bite marks... she had fully healed!

"I don't understand? I _know_ Angelida had shot her? We can't heal silver wounds normally, yet somehow, it appears as if she did?"

Jake carefully ran his fingers through the fur of her right shoulder, where Nak said she saw a bullet hit.

"Nothing. Not a single mark. If she did heal the wounds, what happened to the bullet?"

"It has to still be inside of her."

"Well... let me try something."

Jake stood back up and ran over to the Turbokat, jumping up into the cockpit. Chance watched him curriously.

"What the heck are you doing, bud?"

"I'm going to see exactly how accurate this deminsional scanner is."

It took a few minutes as Jake worked on the radar. He then leaned in close to the screen, trying to get a good look at the image.

"Bingo! Bullet's there. Looks like about two inches deep. Looking for more..."

After another few minutes, he shut the radar back off and got out of the jet, going back over to the others.

"Okay, I found three bullets. All on the right side, thankfully, so we don't have to worry about how to flip her over. Now let's just hope she doesn't wake up while we're trying to cut them out."

Nak gently rubbed the bridge of Sar's nose, inbetween her closed eyes.

"She won't. After using so much rage, she'll sleep for quite a while."

Chance held up a flashlight as Jake carefully parted the fur exactly over where he saw the bullet. Nakela had the most medical experiance, so she was the one to extract the bullets. Carefully, she cut open the skin, which did prove to be quite tough, almost like leather. She had to work quickly and make several cuts deeper and deeper as the incision kept trying to heal back over. After almost four minutes, she finally found and extracted the bullet.

"Yep. Pure silver. I just don't get it though? I _know_ that Garou and Bastet are harmed by silver, and yet she healed it like nothing?"

Chance didn't even glance up as he moved the flashlight to shine on her side near the spine where Jake had found the second bullet.

"Well, you said she's the strongest warrior you know. Maybe it has something to do with her being a.. 'metis'?"

Nak shook her head.

"No. Metis are effected just the same, sometimes even more so. I've heard stories that some werewolves had a tollerance to silver, but I've never heard of a Bastet having it. Well, at any rate, the shoulder's already healed back up again. Now..."

It took even longer to extract the other two bullets since they were in deeper. Once they finally did, it was already almost 3 am and they were exhausted. Nakela wanted to stay with Sarita, so Jake & Chance brought her down a folding cot along with some blankets and a pillow. Nak slept a few yards away from the Hellcat while the two kats went back upstairs to their rooms.

**.**

Angelida didn't know if it was from the werewolf blood that had flowed through her veins before her Embrace, or from some other dark power, but she had managed to gain a strong control over her animalistic shape-changing ability. The Sabbat always assumed she had done extensive study on werewolves and that was part of why she didn't suffer from thier Delerium. The leeches never even suspected that she shared thier blood, and she made sure to keep it that way. Her grandfather had been a werewolf, a Ronin, and she had been what was called Kinfolk. But whatever the reason, she could control her ability to change into an animal far more strongly than most other Gangrel, or any vampire with the Protean Discipline.

She concentrated hard, using the strength of her vitae to fuel her transformation. It wasn't like changing to a panther, as her body still remained mostly human. But her face gained more feline features, and her body grew a short coat of midnight-black fur. She kept her fangs and claws, although they weren't at thier full length. Ange smiled as she looked at her own reflection in the blade of her machette, a slight amusement as she remembered how some vampires didn't have one, and saw that she now looked like a kat! Her hair and eyes were the same color, but her fur was pitch black, including her normally chocolate-brown ears and tail.

Now well disguised, she made her way up to the streets above. Hidding in the shadows of a nearby alley, she watched the entrance to the large building for several hours. Dawn began to approach, but she continued her watch. As long as she remained out of the sunlight, she'd be fine. At length, the door opened and she saw a kat in a white lab coat leave. She smiled. This was her chance. Cautious of the security cameras, Ange walked toward the unsuspecting kat.

"Uh, excuse me? Sir? Could you please help me?"

Ange had removed her kevlar body suit & weaponry, and now only wore the cut-off denim jeans and small dark red shirt. Even as a kat, she was still unnaturally attractive, and young-looking. Something she had always played to her advantage. The kat turned and looked at her in slight confusion.

"Huh? Oh, what are you doing out here so early for, young lady?"

"I was on my way to a friend's house. We have gymnastics training at 5am. But my car got a flat tire. Could you please help me? My dad taught me how to change it, but I don't have a jack with me."

"Oh. Sure. I have jack in my trunk. It's right over there."

He pointed to a dark blue sadan near the far end of the parking lot.

"Oh, thank you so much, sir."

She followed him over to the car, making a mental note of the location of the secutiry cameras. The kat hit the button on his key-chain remote, unlocking the car's doors.

"Umm... where is your car? I could give you a lift?"

"It's about two blocks down. I'd really appreciate it. I really don't like being stuck out here without the sun up."

"I understand. Hop in."

He wondered at why she'd be so trusting of a stranger to give her a lift, but with her slim, athletic body, he had no doubt she was a gymnist who could probably get away quite quickly. And if her dad had taught her how to change a tire, he had probably taught her a bit about how to defend herself as well.

The kat got in and started the car as Ange climbed into the passenger seat. They drove out of the parking lot and down the street a couple blocks. Ange pointed to a red car parked along the sidewalk.

"There it is. The flat's on the other side."

He pulled up behind the car and got out, walking around to the trunk. Ange got out and walked back as well, noting that there were no cameras around. With incredible speed and strength, she grabbed the kat and half jerked, half threw him into the narrow alley beside the building where the cars were parked. Before the kat knew what was happening, she sank her fangs deep into his neck. She didn't tear the flesh as she had with previous victims. She wasn't trying to caus pain this time. The vampiric ability known as the _Kiss_ took it's effect, leaving the kat feeling an ecstasy caused by the vampire's feeding. She only took a small amount though, enough for the kat to become completely dazed from the feel of the _Kiss_.

She then bit into her own wrist, drawing a small amount of blood. Ange used her other hand to tilt the kat's head back as she held her wrist over his mouth. Several dark drops of the vampires blood fell into the kat's mouth, and he closed his eyes at the strange salty-sweet taste. Ange smiled darkly then licked her wrist, the wound closing. She had also licked closed the small bite marks on the kat's neck, not even leaving a trace of blood in his fur. The vampire then tilted the kat's head back level so that she could stare right into his eyes, again using her vampiric abilities.

"Now, listen to me. You have tasted my vitae, and thus, my power. Serve me well, and you shall be rewarded with power and long life. Do you understand me?"

The kat was still somewhat dazed.

"Y...yes..."

"Good. Now, go home. Tomorrow night, at this time, look for me here again."

Ange then turned and walked off into the shadows, leaving the kat to slowly recover his senses.


	19. Chapter 19

Sarita's ears twitched. She could faintly hears sounds. Voices. But they were muffled. It felt like she was listening from under water. Slowly, she began to open her eyes. Everything was blurry. She couldn't focus yet. She closed her eyes again. After a few moments, the voices became clearer. She recognized them. She opened her eyes again, allowing her eyes to focus. She was in the hanger, and she could hear Jake and Chance talking a little ways off. They were talking about... mutated bats? What bats? Sarita tried to lift her head, then dropped it back down again. She closed her eyes tightly. Her head ached, and she was dizzy. What the Hell had happened last night? Was it only last night? Or longer?

It would be several more minutes before she tried to lift her head again to look around. There was a slight pause in the talking, then she heard Chance's voice.

"Well, looks like somebody's finally awake again."

Sarita flicked her ears and turned her head to look over her shoulder. The two kats were working on the jet. The glass canopy was covered in cracks and they were working to replace it. Sar then looked around the hangar. Jake knew what, or rather who, she was looking for.

"Nakela's upstairs right now. She'll be back shortly."

Sar sighed and laid her heard back down. About ten minutes later Nak climbed down the ladder back into the hangar, and Sawgrass flew in after her. Jake and Chance both jumped down from where they were working on the jet. It was late afternoon and Nakela had made them all sandwiches.

"How's she doing."

Jake smiled and pointed a thumb back over his shoulder at the jaguar.

"See for yourself."

Nak turned to look at the cat, who's ears were forward and eyes open, watching her. Nakela smiled.

****

.

Ange paced back and forth in the lab. Viper kept a wary eye on her as he worked to remix the original mutagen. He had no idea how the vampire had gotten the Katalysts, but she had assured him that she could now get however much of whatever he needed from the Biochemical labs. At length, the vamp finally spoke.

"Okay, first needs to be the law enforcement. 'Enforcers', right?"

"Yesssss..."

She smiled. Ange found that quite amusing, as her position in the Sabbat pack she was 're-born' into was the Enforcer. She may be small in stature, but she was strong in attitude. And she seriously knew how to kick ass, regardless of how big her opponent was. Her smile faded as she then remembered the events of that following year. Her first year as a vampire was also her worst.

"Okay. Second will be the political structure. That's actually the easier part to get to, but harder to work with. And we're going to have to do something about those SWAT Kats."

"Good luck with _that _one!"

She stopped and looked over at him.

"Why?

"I've tried many different timesssss... and they keep sssstopping me! SSSSSame with Dark Kat, the Metallikatsssss, Hard Drive..."

"Hold it. These are other major players in this city? From _our _side of it?"

"Yessssss... but none of them can be trussssted! I've made _that _missssstake before!"

"You've worked with them before?"

"Oncsssssse. Not Hard Drive though. But even with our alliancsssse, We sssssstill couldn't ssssstop thossssse Blasssssted SSSSSSWAT Katssssss!"

She smiled darkly.

"There has to be something. And we _will _find out what."

****

.

That night was the third night of the full moon, so Sarita was left alone in the hanger. Even Nakela opted to sleep on the couch that night. The next day, a much calmer Sarita finally shifted to Sokto and went upstairs. The two shifters decided to spend the next day and night with the kats since Nakela was still wounded. Jake and Chance were fine with that, and actually thankful the reckless shifters decided to wait until Nak was a little better before trying to cross half the city again back to their Den Relm.

Sawgrass reported that all the mutant bats and rats had in fact been killed, and that there have been no more reported killings in the city. Sarita's ears went back at that news.

"Mason's changing it up. Now she doesn't want us to know anything about what she's doing. She was trying to lure us out with the dead bodies, but now she's either hiding them, or feeding on live victims."

This caught Jake and Chance completely off guard. Chance looked at the jaguar in surprise.

"She can feed without killing? How?"

Sarita shrugged.

"All vampires do. That's how they're actually supposed to. Otherwise their food sources would run dry very quickly. They take only what they need."

"But... don't people realize what's happening?"

"Some do, some don't. A vampire's bite is intoxicating. It creates a feeling of pure ecstasy to make the victim compliant. There are some humans who willingly seek out vampires to feed on them. Others simply think they've been drugged, never really remembering what happened."

Jake gave a slight shiver. He couldn't imagine someone actually _wanting _a vampire to feed on them. That night, with the moon now waning, Sarita stayed out late with Sawgrass on a patrol through the southern part of the city while Nakela rested. Sarita had used her healing ability on her, but the wounds were made from silver and were more difficult to heal, especially since Nak had to remain in her human form while at the kat's home.

Thankfully, Nak was at least healed enough, mostly thanks to Sarita's Gift, that they would be able to travel back to their home in the morning. It would only be another two or three days to fully heal once she was back in her Archid form in the Den Relm.

****

.

Nakela looked out the window at the sky. It was morning now, the sun having been up for a few hours now. She then turned and looked back down to the jaguar sleeping on the floor nearby. A dark smile formed on her face. The raven, perched on the back of the sofa, seemed to know what she was thinking. He looked at her and made a soft chirping.

__

Do it!

She gave a soft, almost inaudible laugh as she glanced to the bird, then turned her brown eyes back to the sleeping werecat. Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Nakela closed her eyes and concentrated. Using her Gift, she entered the jaguar's dreams. Sarita's ear twitched, and she tilted her head slightly. A soft growl escaped the sleeping cat as the tip of her tail twitched back and forth. It was working...

__

Sarita had her eyes closed. She closed off her other senses, allowing her sense of touch to overwhelm her. She ran her hands up his strong back, her fingers gently parting his fur. She then moved them down his arms, tracing the muscles lightly with the tips of her claws. She moaned softly with pleasure as he pushed against her body. He kissed her neck gently, and she shivered involuntarily. Nothing else existed. Nothing else mattered. Just the feeling of him inside and around her. Caressing her. She let out a deep, slow breath. She didn't want it to end. But... what was wrong? Something felt... not right.

Nakela, concentrating on holding the Dreamspeak now that Sarita was somehow starting to resist it, never even noticed Jake and Chance as they came up the stairs. Both kats looked at the human, then to the twitching jaguar.

Chance was about to say something when the raven turned and hissed at them sharply, his wings half-spread. After a few more moments, Nakela let out a deep breath and opened her eyes, that dark smile back on her lips. Sarita's eyes were clenched shut, the end of her tail lashing. Forget the raven, Chance knew something wasn't right.

"What did you do to her?"

The human gave a soft, dark laugh as she looked at the two kats, her eyes narrowed.

"Oh, just aggravating her a little. Sarita's either too serious, or too depressed, to enjoy life anymore. Since she's asleep and can't argue, I figured I'd help her 'loosen up' a bit. Of course, she'll probably be in a very foul mood when she wakes up and realized what happened."

The raven gave a soft cawing laugh. Jake had a bad feeling about this, and Chance didn't like it either.

"I say again, _what _did you do?"

"It's called 'Dreamspeak'. I can _alter _other people's dreams. And creating dreams from memories, or altering memories, makes it all the easier."

"What dream did you give her?"

She still had that same wry smile.

"Oh, you probably don't want to know."

Just then, the crow began cawing, flapping his wings. Sarita was waking up. She shook her head then opened her eyes, looking around. There was a bit of confusion at first in her expression, which quickly turned to anger as she turned to glare at the smiling human. The jaguar then roared out loudly, causing Jake and Chance to jump back in surprise, and she lunged at Nakela. The human, having expected it, jumped quickly out of the way, laughing, as the big cat landed on the couch, claws fully extended. Her tail was lashing angrily and her ears were pinned flat against her skull. She snarled viciously at her friend.

"Oh come on! You can't tell me you didn't actually enjoy it?"

This seemed to make the jaguar even angrier and she lunged again. The problem, was that when Nakela had moved, it left her standing in between the two kats, and the jaguar. And the kats were standing in front of the stairs. All three lept quickly out of the way of the angry feline, who slammed hard into the railing, smashing though it, and tumbled down the stairs to the garage below.


	20. Chapter 20

Jake and Chance both ran to look down over the destroyed railing. They saw the jaguar get back up onto her feet. Her ears are flat against her skull and her tail lashing. Chance shot a cold glare at Nakela.

"Why the heck did you have to go and piss her off again?"

The woman just smiled and shrugged.

"She'll be fine. She just needs to burn off some of that energy and rage."

Jake turned to look at her now.

"Burn it off how? It's not like she can just go for a run around here in that form!"

Chance turned to Jake.

"Well, there's always the Reflex Room."

Jake looked at his friend in surprise.

"I really don't think that's a good idea."

Nak's expression change to one of curiosity, and concern.

"What's the Reflex Room?"

Chance explained.

"It's where we do some of our physical training. There are a lot of traps down there and it's extremely difficult, and dangerous."

"Which is why it's a bad idea, Chance!"

Chance was about to say something else, when he turned his head suddenly to look back down at the jaguar.

"What the...?"

The feline was looking at him with her ears pricked, tail twitching.

Jake looked between them in surprise.

"What happened?"

"She just asked me where the Reflex Room is..."

"I didn't hear her say anything?"

"_Exactly_!"

Nakela laughed.

"It's called 'Touch the Mind'. Or 'Mental Speak' for wolves. Allows certain shifters to communicate over long distances. Or to those who can't understand our own languages."

Jake's jaw dropped as he suddenly realized what had just happened. Down below, Sarita growled. Chance answered the irritated jaguar's unheard question.

"Downstairs, below the hangar. But I really don't recommend going down on your own. Like I said, it _is _dangerous."

She flicked her ears, her tail still lashing. Chance sighed. Jake looked at him suspiciously.

"Chance...?"

He shrugged at Jake.

"I guess we're going down."

"_We_?"

"Yeah, I'm going too."

Jake shook his head. Nak really didn't like the sound of this.

****

.

Still in felis form, the jaguar was fast. Chance could barely keep up. Sar suddenly skidded to a stop, and he was barely able to keep from running into her as they both ducked to avoid the blast of flame. Chance dove underneath the flame-thrower and managed to get ahead of the jaguar, who seemed to hesitate. Fire was the only thing Sar was actually afraid of, due to a horrible past experience that nearly cost her life. She snarled and ducked under the flame, then ran to catch up with the kat.

She had just caught up with him when several steel tentacles sprang out of the wall on both sides. Chance fired the mini-turboblades from his glovatrix, severing several tentacles so he could run by. Sar jumped agilely to the side, barely avoiding the others as she continued on. Again they were running side-by-side, with Sar beginning to pass him again. This time however, the floor gave way beneath them. Sarita jumped, her front paws hitting the floor on the other side with her claws scraping at the metal. She was scrambling with her back feet trying to climb back up. Chance fired the grappling hook to stop his fall and pull himself back up. He glanced back over his shoulder at the feline as she managed to climb out of the pit.

"Thought you jungle-cats were more athletic than that!"

She snarled as she pulled herself up and took off running after him again.

Chance ran up a short set of steps and through another door, Sarita close behind him. They came out onto a ledge high over a pit of spikes. Chance jumped and grabbed one of two ropes hanging from the ceiling to swing across the pit. Sarita jumped, pushing off hard with her hind legs. She cleared the pit and actually landed a few seconds before Chance did. As soon as she did the large door began to close, though they both easily made it through before it closed tightly behind them.

Sar skidded to a stop at the end of the long hallway. Another large steel door was at the end with "Level B" on it. She turned and looked curiously at the tabby kat as he walked up behind her.

"Heh. This is the second part. Weapons training. Several targets pop up in random locations. The object is to take out the bad guys as fast as possible, without hitting any of the civilians."

The cat snorted, her tail lashing.

__

Alright. Let's go then.

"How? You don't exactly have any weapons, unless you plan to change forms?"

She snarled and held up a paw, fully extending her sharp claws. Chance chuckled slightly then shrugged.

"Okay..." He hit a large button on the wall and the door opened. "By the way, I'm sorry for shooting at you when we first met. We've had to deal with a lot of strange things before, including a zombie-sabertooth. And you _were _being quite threatening."

The large feline just shrugged casually.

__

Shit happens. As Nakela had explained, we were in a very vicious life-or-death battle only minutes before then, and I was still raging from it. Yes, I was threatening, and it was

your

_territory, so you were not in the wrong._

They both ran into the large corridor and ducked behind the crates at the entrance. Sarita's ears twitched and she spun around as the large cardboard cutout popped up. Before Chance could even fire his boomerang, she had sliced through the target of Dark Kat with her claws. He smirked.

"Fine."

They split up, Chance going left and Sarita right. The jaguar's keen ears allowed her to hear the targets before they could even pop fully into view. Chance however, also had sharp reflexes and they were both pretty much even as they neared the end of the long corridor. Another target then came up behind Sarita and she spun, slashing the head off the target kat. Chance looked over and burst out laughing.

"Sorry, but that's a game over. I may not like the guy either, but Feral is head of the Enforcers and the city still needs him."

Sarita flattened her ears and growled, her tail lashing. He sure looked threatening with that upset expression on his face, which now lay on the ground beside the rest of the target.

When Chance and Sarita walked out of the set of blast doors that lead out of the Reflex Room, Jake and Nakela were waiting, Sawgrass on Nak's shoulder. Jake looked at the jaguar, then to his friend.

"Well? How'd she do?"

"Pretty good, but the Enforcers are gonna need a new Commander!"

Jake laughed.

"Well, at least that's better than the city needing a new mayor."

"Hey! That only happened once!"

"Twice."

"That was an accident! You said yourself that the glovatrix had a loose wire in the firing trigger!"

****

.

Angelida and Chigger spent the next few days studying the Enforcers, trying to decide who would be the best target to use. She finally made her choice and had Chigger follow him. How a kat could become to high ranked without any obvious experience or leadership skills Ange couldn't understand, but nor did she care. He would be very easy to manipulate.

Lieutenant Commander Steele never even seemed to notice that he was being followed as he left work for the night. It was late since he had a bit of extra paperwork to do. The damned killings in the southern part of town had at last stopped, but they had one Hell of a mess to clean up at the old litter factory several days ago. No-one could figure out what had happened, but they knew the SWAT Kats were somehow involved. Steele hated those blasted vigilantes, and it bothered him than Feral didn't do more to bring them to justice. He knew that a lot of that was probably due to both his niece, and the city's Deputy Mayor, being friends with the vigilantes.

As he opened the door to his apartment, he never even noticed the silent shadow behind him. Steele walked in and turned on the lights. But as he turned to close the door behind him, he was thrown backward by something, and the door then slammed shut, the lights going back off.

"What the heck...?"

He heard a soft feminine laughter, but couldn't see anything. Suddenly a single lamp came on behind him. Steele turned to see a black-furred she-kat with bright hazel eyes and dark golden/brown hair. She was young, but absolutely gorgeous.

"Who are you? And how did you get in here?"

"Oh don't be so defensive, Lt Commander. I'm here to help you."

He narrowed his eyes at the young she-kat.

"Help me how? And how do you know who I am?"

"How I know who you are is easy. You _are _one of the higher ranking of the Enforcers, are you not? And as for how I can help you... How badly do you want to get rid of the SWAT Kats?"

Now she had his attention.

"What do _you _know of the SWAT Kats?"

"I know that you're not the only who wants to see those vigilantes taken off the streets. And I can help you to do that."

"_How_?"

"Like this..."

She walked over to him, a seductive smile on her black-furred face. Steele took a step back, but there was something about this girl that drew him to her. The vampire smiled. It was too easy. Steele suddenly yelled out in surprise as something grabbed his arms from behind. Powerful hands gripped him tightly and he couldn't move. The she-kat's eyes then took on a red glow and her fangs grew long. Before he could open his mouth to scream, she sank her fangs deep into his neck.


	21. Chapter 21

Stephen's ears were pinned back and his fangs were bared in a grimaced snarl. He hating having to do this, but he knew the leech was right. The crinos Garou was waist-deep in the fetid water of the swamp, as was Darian. The were-panther suddenly jumped back, almost falling over backwards at the massive splashing just in front of him. He reached down and grabbed something in the murky water.

"Got it!"

The werewolf sloshed forward and reached into the turbulent water at the massive creature. Darian was fighting to keep his grip on the powerful tail as Stephen also grabbed onto it. The two shifters then walked backward out of the water, pulling the huge bull alligator up onto the bank. The reptile was massive for it's species, almost 13 feet in length. Viper and Chigger both backed away from the thrashing monster as Ange watched impassively. She nodded her head once the entire gator was pulled up out of the water.

"Stephen! Grab it's head!"

The wolf let go of the tail and timed his jump to land on the beast's shoulders, gripping the powerful neck. Darian then put his full weight on the gator's back.

"Damn this thing is strong! Hurry up, Ange!"

The gator's jaws were wide open as it swung it's head, trying to get loose from the two crinos werebeasts. They were only glad that alligators weren't nearly as agressive as crocodiles. Ange bit deep into her wrist, opening a large wound, and carefully moved over to the powerful animal, letting the blood drip into the gator's open jaws while avoiding getting bit by them.

"Alright! Close the jaws!"

Stephen released his grip on the gator's neck and covered part of it's face. The gator thrashed and snapped it's jaws. After one such snap, the werewolf grabbed hold of the powerful jaws so they couldn't open again. Ange kneeled down and starred into the reptile's eyes, concentrating.

"Calm down..."

The gator stopped it's thrashing and began to calm. She motioned with her hand for the shifters to move, and they quickly jumped off the beast and moved out of the way. Ange continued to keep eye contact with it.

"You're safe now. I've made you stronger. You will guard this place. Now go."

The alligator then turned, and crawled slowly back into the murky water. Ange stood up and looked back at the two larger shifters, both of them covered in mud and dripping with the putrid swamp water. She just smiled slightly.

"Good job."

****

.

Four days had passed since the shifters returned to Sarita's Den Relm. There were no more reports of the strange killings, or of Ange & Viper's mutant creations. For a few days at least, things seemed to have calmed down. It was late evening, the sun just beginning to set. Jake and Chance had finished their work for the day and were now relaxing upstairs in the apartment. That's when the alarm went off. Both kats quickly got up and ran for the emergency com on the wall.

"Yes, Miss Briggs?"

"SWAT Kats! There's this giant wolf-creature that just showed up as I was leaving City Hall! I don't know what it is, but it seems to be...AAAGGGHHH!"

"CALLIE?"

There was no response. They both turned and ran quickly down to the hangar. It took less than five minutes before the lift was lowering the Turbokat down to the runway tunnel. They knew it had to be one of Ange's werewolves, most likely Stephen. And that really worried them, but they both felt that there wasn't any time to try and contact Sarita and Nakela. They could only hope that Sawgrass would notice something and report it back to the two female shifters.

Pushing all three thrusters to maximum, they covered the distance to City Hall quickly. Razor checked his scanners.

"Callie's signal is coming from about two miles away, in the subway system!"

"I don't like this! If that overgrown hairball has harmed even a single strand of fur on her..."

"I know, T-Bone. We've just got to hope that she's okay. I'm going in with the cyclotron."

"Be sure to maintain radio contact at all times! Those things are too strong, and I have a bad feeling there's more than just the one."

"Yeah, same here. Just be ready in case we have to make a _fast _exit!"

"Roger that. Good luck, buddy!"

The large jet flew down low over the street and the bay doors opened. The cyclotron dropped down from the jet, and Razor gunned the engine as soon as the tires hit the pavement. He drove quickly down the stairs of the nearest subway entrance, maneuvering around the many startled kats below. There was no visible train and the signal was coming from down the tunnel. He jumped the bike off of the platform and drove it fast down the rail tunnel.

"T-Bone, can you still read me?"

There was a bit of static.

"Barely. Any sign of her yet?"

"Not yet. But I'm getting close!"

"Just get her and get out of there! We'll find a way to let Sarita know where the beasts are as soon as we've got..."

There was more static, then silence.

"T-Bone? _T-Bone_!"

Nothing. Then the engine stalled on the cyclotron and it began to skid on the tracks.

"WHOA!"

Razor had to jump off as the bike slid and crashed into the wall at a curve in the tunnel. Two large figures stepped into sight from around the bend. Darian and Stephen, and gripped tightly in the wolf's clawed hands, a terrified Callie.

"Razor!"

"Miss Briggs?"

Razor quickly jumped to his feet and aimed his glovatrix at the shifters. He fired liquid cement at them... or thought he did.

"What the... jammed?"

The massive crinos wolf laughed.

"Foolish kat. By invoking the power of gremlin-spirits, I can prevent any form of technology from working!"

Darian dropped down to all fours and shifted into his chatro form. The black saber-tooth then charged. Razor had seen Sarita fight in the form several times. He timed himself just right, then jumped at the last moment, delivering a spinning round-house kick to the side of the panther's head. It felt almost like kicking a cement block.

The impact sent the panther into the wall, and he shook his head and snarled viciously.

Callie tried to struggle in the werewolf's strong grip.

"Razor! Just get out of here!"

The panther turned to face the kat again, snarling viciously. Razor was getting ready for another kick then everything suddenly went pitch black. He couldn't see anything. In the next instant, something hit him very hard from behind. He was thrown forward onto the ground. The last thing he heard was Callie's scream. Something then hit him in the head, and despite the protective helmet, which probably saved his life, he blacked out from the impact.

****

.

It had been over half an hour with no contact from Razor. Callie had escaped through the entrance to the subway and T-Bone landed the jet to speak with her. She had told him of the werewolf magically jamming his glovatrix and the cyclotron. That explained why the radio-com wasn't working either. She then told him of how the had wolf released her to attack Razor. Everything had turned pitch black and she heard them knock Razor out and take him prisoner. The wolf said something about a person named Angelida wanting him alive, so she ran before they thought to recapture her too.

After making sure that Callie was safe, he quickly flew the jet toward the park, praying that Sarita would somehow know he was coming. He was right, as he saw the large black raven circling a clearing in the trees that was just big enough to land the Turbokat in. The were-jaguar was already there in sokto form waiting for him.

Once the jet landed and the engines were shut off, T-Bone quickly jumped out and ran over to her.

"Den Relm! Now! I've got to talk to all three of you!"

She nodded and held out her hands, quickly taking him through the Gauntlet, the raven flying through on his own and landing on a branch. As soon as T-Bone found himself once more in the tropical jungle, he looked around for the dragon.

"Where's Nakela?"

"She's coming."

"No, she's here!" The dragon's head became visible through the thick foliage first and she looked down on the pair. "Where's Jake?"

"Stephen and Darian took him! They had apparently captured a friend of ours, Deputy Mayor Briggs, to lure us into a trap! They were down in the subway. Razor went down with the cyclotron to get her, then get out, but they caught him!"

This came as a shock to the dragon. Sarita however, was far more calm and objective.

"What happened to Briggs?"

"She got away while they caught Jake. She said something about Stephen being able to stop any form of technology from working."

Sarita shook her head saddly.

"Jam Technology. It's a werewolf Gift. Damn! I'm sorry, Chance. But I'm afraid he's gone."

"NO! Stephen said something about Ange wanting him alive! I've got to find him!"

Nakela sighed. Now she spoke again, softly.

"I'm sorry, truly. But it may already be too late."

T-Bone turned and glared up at the dragon.

"I don't care! I'm not going to let that blood-sucker take him!"

Sarita stood with her eyes closed, arms folded over her chest.

"I'm going with you."

Nakela gasped at the sokto jaguar.

"You're WHAT? Sar, you know it's already too late!"

She looked up calmly at her friend and lover.

"I know. But, when Ange took me, I thought I was as good as dead. So did you. But _they _came for me anyway. I owe it to Jake, and to Chance, to at least try."

The dragon shook her head sadly. Balam prided themselves on honor. She knew that Sar felt honor-bound to help, and there was no talking her out of it. T-Bone was also surprised, and grateful.

"Thank you, Sarita."

The jaguar nodded, then closed her eyes again. She reached out with her mind, trying to push for as many miles as she her Gift would let her. She then felt him.

__

Jake? Can you hear me?

There was no answer. After a moment, she opened her eyes again and looked back at T-Bone.

"He's alive, but unconscious. At least twenty miles from here, toward the south. I'm sure I can find him once we get closer."

"Alright. Let's go."

Sarita took his hands again and they were about to pass back out through the Gauntlet, then Nakela yelled out.

"Sarita!"

She paused and both her and T-Bone looked up at the dragon.

"Bring him back safely. And be careful. Both of you."

The were-jaguar nodded.

"We will."


	22. Chapter 22

Razor slowly opened his eyes. His head _really _hurt. It took a few moments for his eyes to focus. He heard a dark hissing laughter.

"Wha... Viper?"

"Yesssss SSSSWAT Kat!"

"What have you done with Miss Briggs?"

"Stephen had to let her go to catch you. Don't worry. She got away. This time."

He turned at the feminine voice to see the vampire standing behind him. In fact, they were all five there, standing in a loose circle around him. Razor tried to get to his feet, but his head was still throbbing. He dropped back onto his hands and knees. Groaning, he reached a hand to his sore head, and realized that his helmet was gone! That also meant that he couldn't contact T-Bone!

"Don't you dare harm her..."

Ange laughed, then looked to Viper.

"You were right. She was the right bait."

Stephen stood towering over the others, his arms crossed over his massive chest.

"So, what are we going to do with him?"

Darian, back in crinos form, was kneeled down beside Ange, watching the kat with a hateful expression.

"I say we tear him to shreds!"

The powerfully built werewolf gave a soft, dark laugh.

"Still upset that this little thing got the better of you, ShadowClaw? No. I say we _eat _him."

Razor tried to hide his nervousness, which was made worse by the eerie hyena-like laughter of the smaller werewolf, Chigger.

Ange gave a cruel smile. When she spoke again, her seemingly sweet voice was laced with a cold venom.

"No. I've got something much better in mind. Pick him up."

Before he could react, Stephen and Darian each grabbed one of Razor's arms, and jerked him up. Razor glared coldly at the vampire, and her smile darkened.

"Beat some of that spirit out of him."

Ange then stepped back as Viper walked up to the restrained kat. Razor tried to struggle, but the snake turned, and slammed him _hard _with his powerful tail. The two shifters released their grip, and he fell onto his back on the ground, the air knocked from his lungs. He tried to get up, but Darian kicked him in the ribs, throwing him several feet. Then Stephen kicked him in the back, and he was unable to surpress the yell of pain.

There was nothing Razor could do against the powerful were-beasts. The only thing he _could _do was curl himself up in the fetal position as they continued to beat him. He felt several of his ribs break under their strong blows. He wondered if any other bones were broken. His entire body hurt so badly that he couldn't even tell. At length, Ange finally called them off.

"Now, tie him up."

They jerked him up again and dragged him over to a wall. Stephen held him tightly by the throat. Razor struggled to breath, and to stay conscious through the extreme pain, as Darian tied his wrists with rope. The panther then tied his ankles together. When Stephen released him, he was hanging from the wall with his arms spread, his feet just barely touching the ground. Razor swallowed, tasting his own blood in his mouth. He had been beaten so badly that his right eye was now swollen almost shut. Still, he glared coldly at the vampire.

"Why don't you just kill me and get it over with, blood-sucker?"

Ange gave a sadistic smile.

"Because I have no plans to kill you, kat. No, what I have in store for you is much worse."

Angelida then walked up to him and placed a clawed hand on his chin. Razor tried to pull away, but he was barely able to even stay conscious. He was simply too sore and too weak, and the vampire's grip was too strong. She gently turned his head aside, then leaned in. The next thing Razor felt was her fangs sinking deep into his neck. He winced from the sudden sharp pain, but then the feel of the _Kiss _began to flow through him. He tried to fight it, but couldn't. Sarita had told him that a vampire's bite creates a feeling of pure ecstasy. She was right.

Razor couldn't controls his senses. The pleasure of the vampire's _Kiss _was too strong. He groaned softly at the feeling and Ange leaned her body against him. It seemed to last an eternity, but she pulled away after only a few moments, licking the wound closed and removing all traces of blood form his fur. He didn't want the feeling to end. The vampire smiled darkly, and spoke in a gentle whisper.

"Now, SWAT Kat, you're mine..."

Razor was still completely dazed, enthralled by the vampire's seductive power. She leaned in, and her lips brush against his. She kissed him, running her own tongue over her sharp fangs, cutting it. The vampire's blood flowed into Razor's mouth and he couldn't help but swallow as the vampire kissed him deeply. He didn't dare resist. In the back of his mind, he knew he should fight. But he couldn't. He didn't want to.

.

T-Bone had landed the jet the on a low building near the area where Sarita sensed Razor. Once again in her chatro form, the pair continued on foot through the old buildings and warehouses in the more run-down side of town that the vampire preferred as her territory. T-Bone stayed very close to the jaguar, all his senses on alert. Sarita's sense of smell was incredibly sharp, and she was also able to sense the presence of the evil creatures. She referred to it as being able to sense the presence of the 'Unmaker'. The big tabby hated having to face the creatures on foot, but he trusted the jaguar. He knew how powerful a fighter she was, and she assured him that she would do her best to get them in, find Razor, and then get them all back out.

They'd only gone about a quarter of a mile when the cat suddenly froze, her head up and ears forward.

"What is it?"

__

We're close!

She opened her strong jaws and lifted her lips, her tongue partially out in padaa. After a moment, she closed her jaws again.

__

This way!

They ran quickly through the shadows toward a large three-story warehouse. It was run-down and obviously had been long abandoned. The perfect place for the vampire. Once they reached the door, T-Bone was ready with his glovatrix as Sarita sniffed around at the door's base.

__

He's here. Their smell is strong, but I don't think they're here anymore. There's something else though. I've smelt it before, but I don't know what it is.

He nodded, then carefully reached for the door handle. It was locked. He looked at the massive saber-toothed jaguar, and she nodded that she was ready. T-Bone then kicked the door hard. It flew open inward, and the massive jaguar lept inside, snarling, ready for a fight. She wasn't wrong. Several of Viper's mutant rats charged her. Sarita lunged forward, slashing at the rats with her powerful claws. One jumped at her face and she jerked her head, her long canines catching it in mid-air and throwing it aside.

T-Bone fired his glovatrix, covering two of the rats in sticky tar. Another then lunged right for him. He fired the bladed boomerang, and it cut into the giant skinless rat, severing it's head. As T-Bone caught the boomerang and put it back into the launcher, he saw Razor further off, tied to the wall.

"RAZOR!"

Sarita jerked her head up, her fangs dripping with dark blood, and looked in the same direction.

__

Be careful! Something's not right!

She then resumed her fight against the rats as T-Bone ran across the open inside of the building toward his partner. Another rat lunged at Sarita's face and she snatched it up in her jaws. Clamping down, her powerful jaw pressure crushed the creature. She both heard and felt the bones snapping and crushing in her mouth, then she spit out the foul-tasting abomination. There were only eight of the rats, and it didn't take long for her to dispatch them all. By that time, T-Bone had made it over to Razor.

"Razor! Oh no... What did they do to you, buddy?"

The smaller kat was unconscious. Even in the dim light, T-Bone could see that he had been very badly beaten. It was amazing that he was even still alive. Very carefully, he cut him down, then knelt down, holding his partner in his arms.

"Oh Jake... I'm so sorry! I swear I'll make that bitch pay for this!"

Sarita ran quickly over to him, but then slowed as she approached. The fur on her hackles stood on end and she lowered her head, ears pinned. She moved cautiously forward until she was only a few feet away, then a low rumbling growl echoed from her throat.

__

Be careful!

T-Bone looked up to her, a mixture of pain, anger, and confusion in his expression.

"Why?"

__

He smells of her blood. She's ghouled him!

"She _what_?"

__

She forced him to feed on her blood. He serves her now!


	23. Chapter 23

Sarita had used her Touch the Mind to inform Nakela and Sawgrass of what had happened. She and T-Bone then took Razor back to the jet, and T-Bone flew them quickly back to the hangar. He noticed that Sarita was on edge the entire time, and he really hoped that she wouldn't snap again. The moon had waned to almost nothing, so at least that wasn't a problem. Still...

When they finally got back, T-Bone carefully carried his partner upstairs and set him down on the sofa. He pulled off Jake's mask to better see his face. Now in the light of their home, he could see that the damage was actually _very _bad. Sarita had changed back into her sokto form, but she stood several feet back, her arms crossed over her chest and her ears laid back. Chance pulled off his own mask and glanced back at the female shifter. He noticed that, when she shifted, she was again wearing the Mayan warrior's outfit that she wore in her crinos form, though it had altered to fit her smaller sokto body.

"Sar... can you heal this?"

"No."

He was shocked at how cold she suddenly was. As if what had happened with Jake wasn't bad enough. Chance fought to keep his temper under control for the moment, for Jake's sake.

"Why not?"

"He's been tainted by the Unmaker. There's nothing I can do so long as that Asura-spawn's blood runs though his veins."

"Then how do we get rid of it?"

He stood up and faced the jaguar angrily. Sarita narrowed her eyes, her own tail lashing.

"We can't. It has to burn through him on it's own. And there's no telling how long that can take. Only one thing is for sure now. We have to keep him _away _from Mason!"

"I dare that bitch to try coming after him again!"

"She won't have to. He's under her power now. He'll try to go to her. He won't have a choice."

Chance's jaw dropped. He couldn't believe it. Sarita just nodded.

"She has control of him now. It's still weak, but he'll want to taste her blood again soon. If he does, the connection will be stronger. He'll start to turn on us. After three..."

"NO! That won't happen!"

"I'm sorry. But there's no getting around it. We have to make _sure _he doesn't leave here. Someone's going to have to stay with him constantly."

Chance looked back at Jake, now very worried. A thought then occurred to him, and he looked back at the jaguar, his voice now full of hatred.

"What if we kill her..."

Sar regarded him a moment, then nodded slowly.

"Killing the vampire shatters the connection instantly, though the person is still a ghoul and must still go through withdrawal."

"Withdrawal?"

"The blood is like a drug. Once a mortal has tasted it, they can't help but want more. Once they're addicted to it..."

Chance felt a tight knot form in his stomach. Now he knew why the blood-sucker wanted Jake alive.

.

Jake remained unconscious for several days. When Nakela arrived, she and Chance took turns looking after him. Sarita however, refused to. Jake smelled too strongly of Ange's blood and it put the fierce jaguar on edge. Her staying away wasn't out of coldness, but because she didn't want to risk loosing control and killing him, or hurting the others. His bruises began to slowly heal, and even seemed to do so slightly faster than they should, to both the dismay and relief of Chance and the shifters. But he did have several broken ribs and a cracked shoulder blade. Nakela was able to set the bones, and they carefully moved him into his room.

When Jake finally did wake up, it was Nakela who was sitting in the room with him. He groaned softly. He still hurt all over.

"Jake? Are you okay?"

"Where... where am I?"

"You're safe. Sarita and Chance found you and brought you back to your home."

"He looked over at her weakly."

"What are you doing here, then?"

She stood up and walked over to him, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Sar says that we have to keep a close eye on you because of what the vampire did to you."

"What she did...?"

"You don't remember? She forced you to drink her blood."

He closed his eyes. He barely remembered anything after she bit him. It was all a blur.

"Why?"

"She ghouled you, Jake. When a mortal drinks a vampire's blood they..."

Her voice caught in her throat. She looked down sadly.

"They what? What's going to happen to me?"

"They become their servants. They do whatever the vampire asks."

"No... that won't happen to me."

"You won't have a choice. You're going to want to drink from her again. And if you do... Sar says you'll turn on us. She's seen it happen before."

He refused to believe it. But in the back of his mind, he already knew it was true. He tried to push it aside, to force it out of his mind, but a part of him actually _wanted _to find the vampire again. He tried to sit up, but hissed in pain. Nak placed a gentle hand on his chest, stopping him. She was careful not to touch the ribs.

"You're in too bad a shape. You need to heal. If... if you can make yourself heal... it will help burn some of her blood out of you."

"_Make _myself heal?"

"Yes. The Damned can heal themselves similar to how we shifters can. We do so naturally, but their power to do so is in their blood. You can do so too. But you have to _will _yourself to do it."

"I... I don't know if I can..."

"Try, Jake. If not for yourself, then for Chance. He's really worried about you."

.

Two days later, Jake sat on the edge of the bed, his head in his hands. It took him a full day to figure it out, but Nakela was right. He was able to heal himself. His broken bones had mended, and the bruises were completely gone. But worse was the strong urge to find Angelida. He tried desperately to fight it, and he was restless.

It was late and the others were asleep, or so he thought. His ears flicked at the sound of his door opening. He heard a soft voice.

"Jake? Are you okay?"

He didn't even look up.

"What's wrong with me, Nakela? What the heck did that vampire do to me?"

The human woman walked over and sat down beside him.

"I already told you."

"Tell me again. My mind's so foggy. I... I can't think straight!"

She sighed. Her voice was filled with concern for him.

"It's called 'ghouling'. When a mortal drinks the blood of the Damned, they begin to gain some of it's supernatural abilities. Heightened senses, strength, speed... But they also begin to fall under the vampire's influence."

He looked up at her, fear and worry in his eyes, as well as in his voice.

"Is there _any _way to get rid of it?"

She sighed, and placed a gentle hand on his.

"The blood has to be burned away first. Fully metabolized into your system. I can takes days, weeks, or even months, depending on how much there is. Some ghouls, after having spent many years under a vampire's influence, never burn away all of the blood. The most important thing now is to keep you _away _from her."

He looked down again.

"That's the problem though, isn't it? I... I can't stop thinking about her! I want to go... to find her..."

"I understand. And it's not your fault. Just remember that."

She squeezed his hand gently. She was very worried about him. In the month that she had known the kat, she had become very fond of him. Jake looked up again, and looked into her soft brown eyes. His heart was pounding and his breathing was harder. His entire body felt warm. What the Hell was wrong with him? Was it the vampire blood? He decided that it had to be. This attraction, this _desire _he felt for the human woman couldn't possibly be natural.

Nakela knew that mortals couldn't possibly understand the instincts within supernatural creatures. Particularly within Shifters, or vampires, though the Damned called it the 'Beast'. She didn't know much about vampires or ghouling herself, but Sarita did after having spent many years tracking Angelida, learning her ways. Sar had taught Nak some of what she knew, and Nak now knew what vampire blood did to a mortal. She also knew the fastest way to burn it out. Gently, she leaned in and softly kissed the kat.

Jake's eyes went wide in surprise, but he didn't pull away. He felt as if some unnatural instinct was taking control of him. Forcing his body to obey what his mind knew he shouldn't. The instinct flooded through him, and he couldn't fight it. He closed his eyes, and allowed the instinct to take control.

Nakela knew that the supernatural strength would be a factor, but she kept her human body in excellent shape, and she'd be able to heal the bruises when she next had a chance to shift forms. She knew it wasn't right to seduce him like this when he couldn't control himself, but she also knew it would help burn away the vampire blood faster. The blood created an unnatural lust in mortals, which was usually a curse for them, but could also be turned into an advantage. It would also prevent him from wanting to return to the vampire, at least for a while.

The ginger kat was surprised at how soft and smooth the human's furless skin was beneath his touch as continued to press himself against her firm body. He kissed softly down her chin and neck, his fangs brushing against the exposed skin, and she shivered with pleasure beneath him. The vampire blood gave him unnatural strength and stamina, which seemed to match the stamina of the were-dragon. They remained locked in each other's passionate embrace for nearly two hours, until both were so exausted that they finally fell asleep in each other's arms.


	24. Chapter 24

The felis jaguar had always been a light sleeper, and her senses of smell and hearing very acute. Curled up in the small living room, her ears twitched, and she began to stir. It took a few moments, but then she jerked her head up, eyes open and ears pricked. She knew she heard something. Getting up, the large feline stalked silently back toward the bedrooms. She stopped in front of Jake's door and listened, then her ears went flat and a deep, almost inaudible growl rumbled from her chest. She was certainly going to have a 'talk' to Nakela in the morning about this. Letting it go for now, she turned and stalked downstairs into the garage before settling back down and going back to sleep.

When Chance walked out of his room the next morning, he was surprised to find Jake and Nakela both awake, sitting at the table while eating breakfast and talking. He smiled as he walked over to his friend.

"Well you seem to be doing a lot better. How you feeling?"

"I feel a lot like my old self again. I think the vampire blood is finally almost out of me."

Nakela nodded her confirmation.

"Another day or so, and Sarita should be able to perform the Cleansing Rite, completely severing the rest of Ange's influence."

"Great! Where is the Hellcat anyway?"

A soft growling answered the tabby's question and all three turned to see the felis jaguar coming up the stairs from the garage. She looked at Jake and Nakela, her ears pinned and tail lashing. Nakela gave the jaguar a slight smirk, then she just shrugged casually. Sarita then 'spoke' to Nak in the Bastet's feline language of Kheuar.

"I can't believe you actually _mated _with him! He's a ghoul now!"

Nakela just leaned back in her chair and smiled to the irritated cat. She knew that Sarita wouldn't care normally. It was only her hatred for Angelida and ghouls that caused the foul mood.

"So? You said yourself what the fastest ways to burn the blood are."

Jake suddenly paled at Nakela's words. He didn't know what Sarita was saying, but he knew that she had found out about last night, and was apparently quite upset about

it. The large feline snarled, her sharp teeth bared. Chance however, was quite confused at the apparent one-sided conversation, and at the jaguar's anger for what he thought should have been a good thing that Jake was getting better.

"Okay, am I missing something here?"

The jaguar glanced to Chance, then looked back at Nak and Jake with a loud snort. Jake turned his head away, not daring to look his friend in the eye, and Nak still had that sarcastic expression. Chance's jaw dropped.

"Oh you two did _not_?"

Nakela just shrugged. "Sometimes things just happen. Most supernatural creatures, especially the Bete, and also the Damned and their ghouls, have a much more difficult time controlling our instincts and emotions than mortals do."

Sarita growled again, a deep rumbling sound that was more felt than heard. Chance didn't even know what to think.

"Jake! I just can't believe you... and Nak... Oh Hell. I'm out of here!"

Chance turned and walked past the jaguar, heading downstairs and outside into the large salvage yard. The cat snarled again at her friends, then turned and decided to follow the tabby.

Jake sighed as he watched them leave.

"Nakela, I..."

"Don't Jake. None of this is your fault. Once you're completely free of the vampire blood and the control it has on you, this will all smooth out. You'll see."

****

.

Chance didn't even know what to think. He was angry, concerned, confused... it really wouldn't matter so much to him if Nakela were a kat. In fact, he probably would have been glad that his best friend had finally found someone else that cared for him. But Nakela wasn't a kat, she was a dragon! A were-dragon, born as a human, a creature quite different than them despite several other similarities.

"I don't believe they just... I mean... it's not right! It's not _natural_!"

Sarita, still in her feline form, walked along at Chance's side. She wasn't really angry, she just had an deep-seeded hatred of vampires, especially Ange. She glanced over at the tabby as he spoke. He couldn't understand her natural language, so she used Touch the Mind instead.

__

For our kind it actually is.

Chance stopped in his tracks. He looked at the jaguar with a shocked expression.

Sarita just looked back at him, her ears casually flicked back, and seemed to shrug.

__

You have to remember that the first of our kind were born as animals. And many of us still are. I was. We've crossbred, animals to humans throughout our entire existence. And the Mokole have even crossed with other shifting breeds. For us, it's more than just natural. It's what we are. Even our blood-relatives who are born mortals rather than shifters still understand, because they learned from us, not from what the human's version of 'wrong or right' was.

"Maybe so, but Jake is _not _one of you!"

__

As much as I really hate it, he is a ghoul now. At least for the moment. He's not a Killi, but he's still one of the Shadow Folk. A 'supernatural'. So, technically, he is one of us.

Chance virtually growled. He really didn't want to admit that she was right.

"How much longer is he going to be like this?"

__

I hate to say it, but Nak knew what she was doing. The blood is almost fully burned out of his system. Only another day or two at most. Then I will be able to perform a Cleansing Rite and the bond with the leech will be broken.

"Hold it, how does what they did burn the blood out of... nevermind. Maybe I don't want to know."

Sarita chuffed, a sound that Chance could only guess was her way of laughing in the feline form. They started walking again as Chance thought over everything he'd learned about these creatures. After several minutes, he spoke up again.

"Sar, I've got to ask. What do you _usually _do about ghouls?"

She pinned her ears back and lowered her head a bit as she walked, not looking up at him this time.

__

Kill them instantly. Breaking the blood bond is extremely difficult. Impossible in some cases. And that can only be done after all the vampire blood is completely out of their system. We were lucky that Jake ingested only a small amount.

He looked down, knowing full well how temperamental the werecat could be.

"If I wasn't there... would you have killed Jake?"

Now Sarita stopped, in mid-step. Her ears went forward, then flat back against her head again and she narrowed her eyes.

__

Don't you dare ask me that! The two of you saved my life, so I had to do

something

_. In any other situation, yes. I would have. But never before has a friend of mine been ghouled. Honestly I really don't know what I would have done._

"You've never had anyone ghouled? Not in the years you've chased that blood-sucker?"

The feline shook her head.

__

No. Once we go through the first change, our kind cannot be ghouled. Vampire blood makes us sick, with a very few exceptions. Corax I've heard can be, because they are genetically different from all other Bete. And the twisted Asura-dogs known as Black Spiral Dancers. Some of them can be as well. That stunted mutt of Mason's, Chigger, is a ghoul. He'd do anything for her.

"What do you mean by your 'first change'?"

__

We're not all born this way. We live through normal childhoods, be it human or animal. Once we reach adolescence, then we change for the first time. Until then, we're just like any other mortals or animals. That's why I sent my kits away when I began hunting Mason.

"Your _kittens_?"

That one had caught Chance completely off guard. With everything he knew about the warrior cat, he simply couldn't picture her actually being a mother. Sarita gave a half nod, then looked away, a deep sadness in depths of her ocean-blue eyes.

__

Yes. A daughter, and two adopted sons. I knew that once Mason learned of them, she would kill them as she did my pride. Including my daughter's father. So I sent them away, back to the Amazon and the people who raised me. All three would be fully-trained warriors by now.

Chance could see the hurt in the jaguar's expression, and he felt it in her mental connection with him. He truly felt sorry for her. He knelt down to be at eye level with the large feline.

"Sarita, I'm sorry. I can't imagine what it's like to loose _everyone _like that. I've never really had a family like you obviously did. Jake's the only real family I have. My brother."

__

I've noticed. You two are quite close in that way. One of my pride-mates was a Khan named Ramza Stands-Against-the-Darkness. He and I were as close as you and Jake seem to be. Believe me, while you may not be able to understand my pain, I can certainly understand yours. And I promise you. Somehow, we'll find a way to stop Mason. Once, and for all.


	25. Chapter 25

After talking with Sarita, Chance was a bit more relaxed about what Nakela had done. He knew they were right in that he just didn't understand supernatural creatures, and he was actually glad that Jake was almost cured of the vampire's influence. Regardless of how. Anyway, it was obvious that the shifter did care for him. The rest of the day actually passed fairly smoothly. Sarita confirmed that Jake still had a small amount of the vampire's blood in him, so it was decided that Nakela would stay. They figured that if Ange was planning anything, she would have already acted, but it was better for at least one of the shifters to remain at the garage just in case. Sawgrass was off who-knows-where as usual, and Sarita returned to her Den Relm to prepare for the Cleansing Rite.

It was almost sundown when the alarm went off. Nakela jumped, having never heard it before and not knowing what it meant. Both kats quickly got up and ran to the com. Jake got there first.

"Yes, Miss Briggs?"

There was a slight pause.

"Razor! Oh thank heavens you're okay! Guys, you're not going to believe this, but the Metallikats are back!"

Chance groaned.

"Oh not again. Where are they? And are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I can see them at the bank a block away. They ran their hovercraft right through the wall! The Enforcers are on their way, but..."

"Got it. We're on our way!"

Nakela watched the pair run quickly down to the hangar. She knew that this was 'normal' for them, as much as battling vampires, evil spirits, and corrupt Bete were for her and Sar. Still, she worried about them, as she did any time her friends went into battle. Especially Sarita.

It didn't take long for the black fighter jet to reach the bank Callie mentioned. Sure enough, they saw the Metallikat Express where it had smashed through the wall, surrounded by Enforcer patrol cars. T-Bone looked down on the scene as they flew past.

"Haven't they learned by now that the Metallikats' hovercraft can squash those cars of theirs?"

Razor laughed softly.

"Apparently not. But let's make sure that doesn't happen. Arming tarpedos!"

T-Bone brought the jet back around and Razor aimed, then launched the tarpedos. The two missiles impacted the hovercraft, splattering both it and the wall with sticky tar.

"Bingo! That oughta keep them in one place!"

"Yeah, now let's go down and kick some Metallikat tails!"

The jet landed on the neighboring roof. The two kats quickly grabbed their crossbow guns that launched the exploding mini-missiles, and ran to the edge of the roof. T-Bone fired, blasting a hole in the side of the bank building, then they both jumped across. The Metallikats had already blasted through the safe, but were now in a shootout with the Enforcers through the partially tarred up hole. Both kats aimed their weapons, and T-Bone yelled out.

"Hey bucket-butts! Don't you two ever learn?"

They both fired. The Metallikats jumped out of the way, but the explosions still threw them both several yards. Molly got up and fired back at the SWAT Kats.

"It ain't gonna be so easy this time, you pests!"

Mac fired his weapon at the wall, blasting a hole in the back of the building.

"Yeah! Come and get us!"

"With pleasure you tin-can creeps!"

T-Bone and Razor repelled quickly down to the floor below as the Metallikats ran out through the hole. As soon as they hit the ground, the kats ran quickly after the metal thugs, finding that they had blown another hole in the neighboring building and gone into it. It was an office building that was under renovation, with no power. The sun had set and it was very dark. T-Bone looked around in the darkness.

"Aw crud!"

They could then hear Mac and Molly laughing somewhere ahead in the darkness. Mac called out.

"What's a matter! You SWAT Kats scared of the dark?"

There was just enough light coming through the windows from the street lamps outside for the kats to see where they were going. They gave their eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness, then Razor responded to the taunt.

"You're the ones who should be running scared!"

Cautiously, T-Bone and Razor made their way into the dark building. They knew that the Metallikats could see them with their optic sensors, and they were both completely tensed, ready for anything. Razor saw the faint red glow just in time.

"Watch it!"

He jumped forward, throwing both him and T-Bone out of the way of the laser blast only a bare instant before it hit the wall behind where they had been. As soon as they hit the ground, both kats rolled onto their sides and fired in the direction the laser fire had come from. The explosion lit up the room briefly and they could see Mac diving for cover, then run into an adjacent doorway. Another laser hit the floor just an inch from T-Bone's head and he turned, seeing Molly flee up the stairs a short distance away.

"Crud! We're going to have to split up."

Razor nodded as he got quickly back to his feet.

"Right. I'll go up, you got down."

"Got it. Be careful, buddy!"

"You too!"

The two kats turned ran in separate directions after the Metallikats. Razor moved quickly up the stairs, his crossbow aimed and ready as soon as he went through the doorway at the top. He was in a large hallway with glass doors on both sides. There was no sign of Molly. Carefully, every fiber of his being ready to react at the slightest provocation, he moved down the hallway, checking each door. While looking through the fourth door, he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. When he turned around, something grabbed him from behind. A strong hand restrained his right arm, claws digging in and forcing him to release his grip on the crossbow due to the pain. A second hand was over his mouth, preventing him from yelling out. Razor tried to struggle, but whatever was holding him was too strong. A soft, gentle voice whispered in his ear.

"Calm yourself Razor..."

Razor froze, more from shock than anything else. He knew that voice! Slowly, the hand moved away from his mouth as she loosened her grip on his arm with her other hand.

"Angelida...?"

His heart was racing and his breath quickened. Fear and desire both coursed through him. He had almost gotten rid of the vampire's blood in him, but not completely. Now she was here, standing just behind him. He couldn't move. He knew he should try to run, but his body refused to obey. He closed his eyes as the vampire ran her hands gently up his arms to his shoulders. He felt her lips on the back of his neck. He winced at the sharp pain as her fangs broke his skin, but it quickly faded as the sensation of the _Kiss _took over. He stood with his eyes closed, enjoying the pure ecstasy of the vampire's embrace as she fed. Less than a week ago, he couldn't understand how anyone could possibly _want _a vampire to drink from them. Now he did.

Ange gently pulled back, and licked the wound closed. She made certain there was no trace of blood left in the fur of his neck. She then walked around him, running her hand over his shoulder and she moved to stand in front of him. Leaning in, she kissed him deeply. Again she cut her tongue on her own fangs, but this time Razor knew what was coming. There was no resistance. He _wanted _it. He took her blood eagerly as they kissed. At length, the woman pulled her young-looking body away from the kat. She smiled as he opened his eyes.

"Now... you must not tell the others of this. They wouldn't understand. They would try to kill me for it. Sarita hates me. She may even try to kill you."

"I won't let her hurt you..."

"I know. But you must not let on of what has happened here. They can't know. Don't give yourself away, Razor. Don't give me away."

"I won't."

"Good. Now go. Don't worry about the Metallikats. They won't cause any more trouble tonight."

"How do you know?"

"Just trust me. Go."

He turned and headed back down the stairs. Ange stood silently as she watched him go. She then heard a voice behind her.

"Okay, now that was just _disgusting_."

The small human didn't even bother to so much as glance back over her shoulder.

"But it's effective. One more time, and he'll be _completely _under my control. You did your part well, Molly."

The robotic she-kat walked up behind the vampire.

"Yeah? Well just don't forget our deal! And what the heck are we gonna do about our ride! Those blasted SWAT Kats messed it up good, and the Enforcers are probably gonna have it impounded within the hour!"

"Don't worry about that. I've got my claws well into the Enforcer chain of command. And now that the Commander has met with his 'accident', my pawn is now in full charge.

"Accident? What accident?"

She smiled darkly and walked over to the nearest door, picking up the rifle hidden just inside. It was the sort used by military snipers.

"Where do you think I was while you two were luring the SWAT Kats in here?"

"_You _took out Feral?"

"Not an exact kill shot, but he'll be in the hospital for weeks. Of course... there's _always _a chance for 'complications'."

Back downstairs, Razor soon found T-Bone again. The larger kat looked over at his partner as he approached.

"You find Molly?"

"Sorry, pal. Looks like she got away."

"Yeah, so did Mac. I thought we had those two this time!"

"Same here. At least there wasn't a whole lot of damage done, and they no longer have their hovercraft."

"Yeah, at least there's that. Come on. Let's head home."


	26. Chapter 26

Sarita had a very keen sense of smell, as well as the ability to notice the presence of the dark power they called "The Unmaker" or "The Dissolver". Unfortunately, Nakela had neither. When they returned, she never noticed anything was wrong. Chance however, had known his best friend for years. And he _did _notice that Jake was acting a bit strangely. Jake was normally the calm one, but he seemed to be a bit too 'energized' tonight. Chance thought that maybe it was the residual effect of the vampire blood, not to mention the fact that Jake had to be kept at their home, unable to leave for any reason, ever since he was captured by the vampire. Once they had changed and were back upstairs, Chance looked at his friend a bit worriedly.

"Hey Jake, you okay?"

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"Well, you just don't quite seem yourself?"

The smaller kat just smiled and shook his head.

"I don't know. I just feel like things are finally starting to look up again. I'm almost free of that vampire's control. We managed to stop the Metallikats tonight with minimal damage. And..."

We walked over to Nakela and put his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder. She smiled in surprise. Chance just sighed, then smirked at his friend.

"_And _I really don't want to know the rest, bud."

Jake and Nakela both laughed softly. They ordered pizza for dinner then watched TV. Jake seemed to be in an unusually good mood. Chance felt that should be a good thing. But then, why did it bother him so? He just couldn't help feeling that something wasn't quite right. After Litterbin, they switched over to the news. Ann Gorra was reporting on the events of earlier that evening. She mentioned that a few Enforcers had been shot and had to be sent to the Emergency Room of Megakat City Hospital, but there were no reported fatalities and no names have yet been released. Jake then realized something.

"That's odd. I know Feral was there, yet Ann isn't interviewing him."

"Yeah, that is strange. I thought he'd be yelling about us 'interfering' by now."

When the report ended, Chance stood up and stretched.

"Alright. I'm turning in for the night. You sure you'll be okay."

"I'll be fine Chance. I'm sure Nakela will make certain of that!"

Chance rolled his eyes then headed into his room. Jake just smiled then leaned in and kissed Nakela's neck playfully. She giggled softly.

"What _has _gotten into you?"

He just shrugged, giving her a playful smile.

"Like I said, I just feel like things are starting to look up."

"Well, in that case..."

She stood up and grabbed his hands, pulling him up off the couch as well. She then turned and moved quickly into his room. Jake ran after her, closing the door behind him. Chance waited about a half hour, then quietly left his room again. He groaned softly, as there was no doubt about what was going on behind Jake's closed door.

Moving as stealthily as he could, which the big tabby was actually quite good at, he headed down to the hangar. Chance changed back into his flight suit and tied his mask back on. Putting on his helmet, he then got on the cyclotron, gunning the engine and heading quickly out into the night. He had no idea how late the Hellcat tended to stay awake. It almost seemed to change from night to night. As he rode, T-Bone looked up at the moonless night. If the full moon made her 'rage', then hopefully tonight she would be in a very mellow mood. He really needed someone to talk to, and he couldn't think of anyone else who could possibly understand any of this.

Once he finally arrived at the park, T-Bone rode deep into the woods, close to where he knew Sarita's tree-home was. He really wished he had some way to contact her. He had brought a com with him, but first he had to actually _find _her. T-Bone slowed the cyclotron as he neared the thickest part of the trees. He knew he had to be close. He could almost feel the magic around him.

"Dang, I really wish I knew how to go into the Spirit World like they can."

He parked the bike and hid it in the thick foliage.

"Sarita? Sawgrass?"

He waited. There was no response.

"Crud..."

T-Bone sat down on an old tree-stump. He wished he could find the Hellcat, but simply being here was at least some comfort. He stayed for a long while, simply thinking over everything that's happened. Even with their hectic lives, things still seemed so much simpler before the supernatural creatures all showed up. It had actually been just shy of a full month now. Now the vampire was working with Dr. Viper, and had control of Jake. And who knows how many others, he realized.

"Well, at least it's almost over. I hope."

He jumped suddenly to his feet and spun around as he felt a light touch of something on his shoulder. Looking around, expecting some hidden enemy, he didn't see anything. The only sounds were those of the night insects, and an owl somewhere in the distance.

__

Chance?

He went rigid at the voice in his head. It only took a matter of seconds before he remembered that she had a telepathic ability. T-Bone sighed, relaxing.

"Sarita. I need to talk to you."

__

Wait...

He felt the touch again on his shoulder, and he closed his eyes. The cool night soon felt a little warmer, more humid. The night sounds were far louder. He opened his eyes, and found himself in a thick rainforest. The massive tree that was Sarita's home loomed over him only a few yards away. The were-jaguar stood in her sokto form, wearing only a red silk halter-top and matching short skirt.

"What's wrong? Is everything alright?"

"I don't know. I'm worried about Jake."

"Come with me."

She turned and walked back over to the tree, then up the stairs to the house of branches above. T-Bone followed her.

"I hope I didn't wake you up?"

"No. I couldn't sleep. I just have this bad feeling."

"Yeah, same here."

Once they reached the top, Sarita walked to the back of the ring of branches, opposite the opening. A few thick branches had grown up forming a 'bowl' about ten feet long and six feet wide. Inside where thick blankets and pillows made of soft furs. Sarita sat on the edge of the bed. Even in the moonless night, there was a soft light in the den due to numerous fireflies. T-Bone walked over and sat down beside the werecat.

"I'm just worried about Jake. About what that blood-sucker did to him."

Sarita's voice was soft and soothing. He was starting to see a very different side to the warrioress.

"It's almost over. The blood's almost gone. Very soon now, I can perform the Rite of Cleansing on him to break the bond."

"That's what worries me. We... The Metallikats attacked a bank tonight. We went to stop them. I thought Jake would be fine. We had to go after them on foot into an unoccupied office building. We..."

He hesitated. Sarita looked at him questioningly.

"Chance?"

"We spilt up."

"Oh no..."

"Everything seemed fine. The Metallikats got away unfortunately, but Jake was okay. But... then he started acting... different."

"How?"

"I don't really know how to explain it. He just didn't quite seem his usual self. He seemed to have more... energy than normal. He said he was just in a good mood."

"Where is he now?"

Her voice was now completely flat. Emotionless.

"He's at the hangar. Heh. With Nakela."

Sarita nodded. She knew Nakela would keep him safe. She trusted her lover. Nak was a Midnight Sun, and could be quite unpredictable, but Sarita still trusted her. She cared deeply for that Mokole, the only female she had ever felt this way about.

"Nakela will keep him safe. But what you say concerns me. If, somehow, Mason did get to him again... He still had her blood in his system. He was still under her influence. If he fed on her a second time, then he's actually a danger to us now."

"What? How?"

"Because I don't know if the Cleansing Rite will work. He's much more under her control. He'll want to feed from her again. If he does... she'll have complete power over him. He could even turn on us."

"No! There's got to be a way to stop that!"

"There is..." She looked up, her eyes a maelstrom of emotions. "We kill Mason."

T-Bone sighed and looked down. He took off his helmet and dropped it to the ground, then did the same with his mask.

"Is he safe with Nakela, for at least tonight?"

"Yes. She won't let anything happen to him. Most likely they'll both wear themselves out then sleep till past dawn. The blood, especially in larger amounts, creates an unnatural lust in mortals."

Chance smirked a bit at that.

"I don't know if I can go back tonight."

"You can stay here if you like."

Sarita turned and moved down into the 'bowl' that was her bed lined with furs. She moved to the opposite side and laid down on her side, facing away from him. Chance stayed where he was for a few more minutes before making his decision. 'What the Hell...' He stripped down to his boxers, then lay down in the bed, surprised at how comfortable it was. Even so, he still couldn't sleep. He simply stared off into the darkness. He didn't know how long he had lain there, but eventually he heard her gentle voice again.

"Don't fear for tonight. Rest. Tomorrow, we'll figure something out. Ange knows that I can tell when she's ghouled someone. She'll make her move very soon. Just relax for now."

"I don't know if I can."

"I can help you... only if you let me."

Chance rolled over and propped himself up on his elbow, looking at her in surprise.

"What do you mean exactly?"

"It's hard to explain. One of my 'Gifts'. But I won't use it without your permission. I now it will calm you down and help you to rest, but I don't know what else may happen. I've never used it before."

He was a bit cautious now, but he was sure she wouldn't intentionally do something that could harm him.

"Alright..."

Sarita closed her eyes, and enacted the Gift that the werecat, Arianna, had taught her. A soft, rumbling purr resonated through her body. Purring was the ultimate tool of affection for cats, and werecats were no different. But in a werecat, the purr was magic, and it began to take it's effect on Chance. She leaned in close to him, curling into his warm body. Chance closed his eyes. She was right. All his worries and tensions melted away. But she was also right about the side effects.

The purring instilled within him a desire to be close to her. To comfort her. Sarita wondered if she should have taken her feline form first, but part of her decided that this might have been best. She closed her eyes as he ran his strong hands over her. She remembered back to the dream Nakela had given her. This wasn't the dream. This was real. She purred louder, from her own pleasure. She leaned her head up, and gently brushed her lips against his. Chance kissed her deeply, holding her close to him. He couldn't understand before how Jake would want to make love to a creature so different than they were. But Sarita was a shifter like Nakela. She was an animal, and a person. And a cat, who could take a form very similar to their own. And now, it simply didn't matter...


	27. Chapter 27

Angelida knew that it wouldn't be long before Sarita discovered that Razor had fed on her again. She had to move fast. Only she and her three shifters knew who the SWAT Kats really were, and where they lived. She made sure that NO-one else learned of it. Not even Viper, and certainly not Steele. It was now time to put the next part of her plan into action. She met up with Viper about an hour later. Once again in the guise of a black-furred she-kat, Ange looked at the run-down old building.

"You sure this is the place?"

"Yesssss... Hissss actual hide-out issssss beneath it."

"Good. Let's go."

Angelida entered the old building first, Darian in felis form at her side. Chigger and Viper followed, then Stephen last, his senses on alert for danger. Both the Garou were in lupus form. At first, nothing seems unusual. But the keen senses of the supernatural creatures soon located the hidden trap door. Viper was very nervous, but the others were merely cautious. Ange opened the door and they descended down into the tunnels. They had already been noticed, and it wasn't long before they found that they were not alone. Several small pinkish creatures surrounded them, chittering loudly. The three shifters all snarled viciously at the creeplings, and shifted up, the Garou to hispo and the Bageerah to chatro. Ange merely stood calmly as the shifters moved to stand protectively around her and Viper. The snake-kat glared at the large figure that approached out of the shadows, his deep voice echoing through the stone tunnel.

"You know I don't care for uninvited guests, Viper. Care to explain yourself?"

Ange looked at the large purple kat that stood before her.

"I take it you must be Dark Kat, then?"

Dark Kat narrowed his dark yellow eyes at the young black-furred she-kat and the three massive animals.

"You've heard of me, I see. But you have me at a disadvantage. Who exactly are you, girl?"

"My name is Angelida Mason. And our coming here was my idea. I wanted to speak with you."

He raised an eyebrow curiously. The she-kat was nothing more than a teenager, yet she spoke with the authority and confidence of a kat well beyond her years. And there was no trace of any fear in her voice.

"Why would you want to speak with me? And how is it you come to apparently control such powerful creatures?"

Ange gave a slight smirk. She waved a hand, and the three shifters backed up behind her, so that she faced Dark Kat without apparent 'protection'.

"Because I have already begun my plans to take over rule of this City. And when that happens, I would rather have allies than enemies of those who wanted the same goal."

"_You_? HA! You actually think you can take over this city on your own, girl?"

She smiled darkly, a knowing expression in her deep golden eyes.

"It has already begun. I already have control of the Enforcers. Feral is out of commission, and the one currently in command answers to me. I also have servants in City Hall, Megakat Biochemical Labs, and Pumadyne."

The big kat's jaw dropped. There was no way such a young and frail-looking she-kat could possibly have gained such influence and power so quickly. He had never even heard of the girl, and he knew every major criminal in the city. Yet there was something in her presence, her confidence, her calm manner, that suggested she was telling the truth.

"And _how_, may I ask, did one such as you accomplish all of this?"

She gave an uncaring shrug.

"Quite easily. I'm more than I appear. Perhaps you heard of the killings a while ago? Bodies found in the streets late at night, devoured beyond recognition? And the massacre at the Biochemical labs? That was all our handy work."

She motioned to the three beasts behind her. Viper chuckled darkly at Dark Kat's expression.

"Your pets perhaps, but I still fail to see how a kitten such as you could possibly gain such power."

She just shrugged.

"Test me. See how strong I am. Send one of your own little pets against me. Mine shall not interfere."

He gave a slight smile. The girl had spirit. Spirit could easily get one killed.

"Very well."

He pointed to two of his creeplings, and they lunged at the girl. Ange reached out with her hands, and grabbed the pair by their necks with amazing speed. She brought her arms forward in front of her, smashing their skulls together. The force was so great that the creeplings' skulls exploded like a pair of over-ripe melons. She then simply dropped the corpses to the ground, and licked the black blood from her fingers. Dark Kat was stunned.

"How... how can someone such as you possibly be so strong?"

"As I said, I am far more than I appear. I'm a creature of shadows and nightmares. Not alive, but not dead."

"Ha! Riddles is it? Very well. If you are not alive, then we'll see if you _can _die."

The three massive animals snarled viciously as Dark Kat pulled a laser-gun from under his cloak and aimed at the girl. Ange's smile darkened. She glanced over to the larger wolf. The powerfully built black animal nodded his head. She then looked back at Dark Kat and shrugged.

"Go ahead."

He meant it merely as a threat to see her reaction, but he decided to call the girl's bluff. He pulled the trigger, but his eyes widened in surprise at the 'click'. The gun refused to work.

"What?"

Angelida and Viper both laughed, and the three animals all made strange sounds that also resembled laughter. Before Dark Kat could react, the girl moved swiftly forward and grabbed the gun from his large hand, then crushed it in her own small one like an aluminum can. Now angered, he brought up his cane and stabbed her with the bladed end of it. The girl stepped back in surprise and looked down at the wound in her side. Dark Kat grinned, but the grin quickly vanished as the wound healed itself almost instantly before his eyes.

"That's not possible!"

She looked back up at the purple kat.

"Oh yes it is... for a vampire!"

All the creeplings quickly backed up, giving the group much more space. They were now fearful of the creature leading the beasts. Dark Kat again narrowed his pupil-less eyes at her.

"A vampire? Huh. Well, I suppose that would explain a bit. And I would therefor have to agree with you. Perhaps it _would _be better for us to be allies than enemies. However, I don't know if you realized the one, or rather two, little flaws in your plan."

She raises an eyebrow curiously.

"Oh? What what would that be?"

"Heh. The SWAT Kats."

Viper laughs wickedly. Ange just smiled.

"Oh that's already delt with. One of them is already under my control."

That one caught him as the biggest surprise thus far.

"What? How is that possible?"

"Simple. I just needed the right bait to lure one of them into a trap. Once a mortal tastes my blood, they're under my control."

"I see... so exactly how _strong _is your control?"

Ange smiled darkly, a predatory look in her hazel eyes.

"You'll see just how strong my powers are, when Razor _kills _his partner!"


	28. Chapter 28

Chance opened his eyes slowly. It was late morning now. Sarita, in sokto form, was still asleep curled up against him. He smiled softly and gently kissed her forehead. She moaned softly and shifted a bit.

"Time to wake up, beautiful."

"Huh?"

She slowly opened her eyes. Sarita was usually a very light sleeper, but she felt comfortable and safe in the tabby's arms, and had actually allowed herself to drift into a deeper sleep. She sighed softly, not wanting to move, but she knew they had work to so. Chance felt the same way and he reluctantly let go of her when she got up. After putting their clothes back on, Sarita putting on the black leather halter-top and skirt Chance had seen her wear the very first time she shifted forms, the Hellcat walked over to a 'shelf' in the branched wall. She took from it a shallow clay bowl about ten inches in diameter, then walked to the other side of the tree-house, kneeling down and setting the bowl on the 'floor'. Chance walked over and stood a short distance behind her.

"What are you doing?"

"Checking on Jake and Nakela. Watch."

He kneeled down beside her. She waved a hand over the bowl, and it magically filled up with pure, clear water. She smiled at his expression.

"The Mokole are able to see what 'was'. And some, such as Nakela, can see glimpses of what 'might be'. But we Bastet are able to see what 'is'. And my own tribe, the Balam, are the greatest at this talent."

Sarita closed her eyes, focusing on the natural power within her. The water in the bowl began to shimmer, then turned dark, as if a cloud of smoke was forming beneath it's surface. Then the cloud began to swirl, and an image formed on the surface of the water. It was Chance's home. More specifically, the living room of his and Jake's apartment above their garage. Sarita opened her eyes, but the sight she saw made her heart skip a beat. They both looked into the reflection shown them with disbelief.

"Please tell me this isn't real..."

"It's more than real. It's now!"

The place had been trashed, and there was blood splatter in several places. They saw Nakela laying unconscious on the floor near the overturned sofa, bruised and bloodied. There was no sign of Jake. Chance instantly got to his feet and grabbed his mask and helmet. Putting them on, he ran down the stairs of the tree as quickly as he could. Sarita didn't even bother with the stairs. She ran and lept right off the ledge. She landed easily on the ground, as if the jump were only three feet rather than over three stories.

T-Bone ended up jumping the last ten feet down, and as soon as he neared Sarita she grabbed his hand and pulled him back through the Gauntlet. It was full daylight now, and actually somewhere around 10 or so. T-Bone quickly pulled the cyclotron out of the bushes where he had hit it, revving the bike's powerful engine.

"Get on!"

"No. You go! I'll catch up shortly!"

With that she vanished back into her Den Relm. T-Bone gunned the engine and took off quickly out of the park and through the city streets, back toward the salvage yard, and home.

.

He pulled into the salvage yard and down the hidden ramp at a reckless pace, afraid of what could have happened, and fearing the worst. Somehow, he _knew _that the vampire had something to do with this. But then he remembered what Sarita had told him last night. That Jake could potentially turn on them due to Ange's influence. The tabby pushed the thought aside. Jake could never do that! And anyway, she said it had to be three times that he drank the vampire's blood, and it was only two. He hoped.

Thankfully the garage was still closed, the large doors shut tight. As soon as he entered the hangar he shut off the cyclotron and ran quickly up to the garage above. The hangar and the garage both looked fine. No signs of any struggle. The upstairs apartment was a very different story. It was exactly like he had seen in the vision in the water! T-Bone ran over to Nakela where she lay face-down on the floor. He carefully rolled her over. She had been badly beaten and clawed, but was still alive. She groaned softly as he moved her.

"Nakela? What happened here? Where's Jake?"

"Stephen... it was Stephen..."

He was thankful she was at least semi-conscious, but she was obviously very weak. Sarita could heal in any form, but Nakela was unable to heal quickly in her human form, and was in very bad shape. T-Bone stood up and moved quickly over to the old couch, lifting it back upright. He then very gently picked up Nakela and lay her down on the couch.

"Stephen... Angelida's werewolf?"

"Yes... And Darian... They did this..."

"What happened to Jake?"

"They took him... I couldn't stop them... couldn't shift... They told me... to give a message to Sarita..."

She coughed, spitting up a small splatter of blood onto her lips as she did so.

"Easy. Sarita's coming. What message?"

"Angelida... She wants it over... Tonight..."

"Where?"

"The old factory."

"The same place as last time?"

"Yes... Midnight... Or she kills Jake..."

He closed his eyes, his hands balled into fists. It was obviously Sarita that the blood-sucker wanted, but he was ready to tear that bitch apart himself!

"Chance...? It's a trap... She wants all of us dead."

"I know... But we'll see who ends up dead..."

He was pissed, and he knew that's what the vampire wanted. He knew it was a trap, and he knew she was baiting them right into it. But he was still pissed. Slowly, he got up and looked around the room. He wondered how much of the blood was Nakela's, and how much wasn't. They'd beaten her badly, but didn't kill her. The wounds also appeared shallow. They obviously didn't want her dead yet. Why?

T-Bone turned suddenly at a sound downstairs in the garage. He really wished he had his glovatrix, as the sound was obviously something moving, fast, through the garage then up the stairs. He sighed in relief at the golden-furred jaguar as she ran up, breathing hard.

"How the heck did you get here so fast?"

She moved quickly toward Nakela, shifting to Sokto as she did. She was breathing very hard, as if she had been running.

"Impala's Flight. It doubles my running speed."

"You _ran _here?"

"Yeah..."

Sar kneeled down beside her friend, speaking softly through her ragged breaths.

"Nak? What happened?"

T-Bone walked up behind her, answering the question instead.

"Stephen and Darian took Jake. They left her alive to deliver a message for you. Angelida said she wants to end this.. _tonight_!"

Sarita could hear the pain and fury in the kat's voice. It matched her own. She looked at her best friend and lover, beaten and bloodied, and her own claws dug into the side of the couch where she kneeled.

"Fine with me!"

Nak opened her eyes and dully looked up at the angry werecat.

"Sarita... don't..."

"No, Nak. I'm ending this. I'm not letting anything else happen to you. To _any _of you!"

To T-Bone's shock, the Balam leaned in and gently kissed the other woman. Sar began to gently and slowly kiss down Nakela's body. He turned his head away. He really didn't know what to think. He now cared deeply for Sarita, but for her to suddenly be so intimate with Nakela... right in front of him?

He looked back, about to say something, but then his jaw dropped in surprise. Nakela's wounds were healing! Only then did he remember that Sarita had healed herself in chatro form the first day he met her by licking her wounds, and Nakela mentioning that it could be done to others as well. He knew Sarita was right, he just couldn't understand the shifters. They were so much like kats in many ways, but he had to keep reminding himself that they also were part animal, and had the instincts of animals. He had to remember to try keeping a more open mind around them.

.

About an hour later, Chance had changed back into his normal clothing, and he, Sarita & Nakela now sat on the couch in the somewhat straightened up room discussing what they would do. Sar had sent her mental ability out to Sawgrass, and the Raven now sat perched on the back of the couch, listening.

Sarita leaned back, her arms crossed over her chest as she stared ahead, her eyes filled with a cold fire, focusing on nothing.

"There's no question it's a trap. Ange's very calculating. The question is, what is she planning? She won't want to risk a physical combat herself unless she _knows _she can win. But the problem is Jake. We don't know what she's done to him."

Nakela, now almost fully healed, looked down sadly.

"I should have realized it. Somehow... she made him drink her blood again. Sarita... I'm sorry."

Before Sar could respond, Chance looked over at the human and spoke.

"It wasn't your fault, Nak. If anything, it was mine. I never should have let him out of my sight last night."

Sarita, sitting in the middle of the couch between the two, spoke up again, her voice cold and emotionless.

"It's no-one's 'fault'. Mason knew _exactly _what she was doing. It really wouldn't surprise me if she somehow orchestrated the whole bank robbery to lure you two out, and Jake away. Chance, did anything about the robbery seem off?"

He thought about it a moment.

"Actually... yes! When we chased them into the next building, they could have taken us out more easily. But they didn't. Now that I think about it... I'd almost swear Molly missed me on purpose!"

He couldn't believe it! The whole bank robbery was a set-up! And that meant... the Metallikats were also working with the vampire!

"We are in serious trouble..."

Sar just nodded.

"I know..."


	29. Chapter 29

It was about a half hour until midnight as the lone figure made her way toward the ruined building. It was just over two weeks since she was here last, and the memory was not pleasant. Sarita landed on a nearby rooftop, overlooking the old factory. She folded her feathered wings and looked down, testing the air. In feline form, her keen ears were pricked forward. A sound overhead made her look up. She could barely make out the black jet in the dark sky. Last night was the new moon, and tonight Seline was just the barest sliver of light, making the night very dark on the outskirts of the massive city. The black raven was even harder to spot as he circled overhead than the jet. The cat looked down again. She thought she saw movement through the hole in the roof of the building.

Ange stood in the center of the building, watching the dark sky. Stephen stood beside her in crinos form. She watched the sky, this time knowing what to expect. As the silhouette of the fighter jet passed by overhead, she grinned darkly.

"Not this time. Stephen..."

The powerful werewolf grinned, his fangs showing beneath the blood red fur of his muzzle. He concentrated on the jet, calling on the gremlin spirits.

T-Bone could see the brightly colored wings fold against the golden jaguar's body as she landed far below. The upcoming battle really worried him. If it wasn't for the fact that his partner was probably down there as well, he would have simply blown the Hell out of the building with missiles. But he couldn't risk it, and Sarita was determined she was going through with the battle. Nothing could have prepared him though for what happened next. The Turbokat's systems began to all shut down, and the engines flamed out!

"What the... no... NO!"

He fought at the controls, doing everything he could to turn the engines back on, but the jet wouldn't respond. It angled down, and fell rapidly toward the streets below.

"Come on, baby! COME ON!"

Nothing worked. The jet's systems refused to respond. It plummeted fast, and he soon knew he had no choice. He had to eject. Thankfully the emergency release still worked, and the canopy flew off. T-Bone ejected from the jet only seconds before it crashed into an empty parking lot a block away from the warehouse. But the ejektor seat's thrusters wouldn't respond either. Fortunately, the parachute at least still worked. He unfastened himself from the seat as soon as he landed, and looked up to see two shapes flying quickly toward him. The winged jaguar and the raven.

The felis-form jaguar landed close by and ran over to him, folding her wings.

__

What happened?

"I don't know! Everything just shut down!"

He kneeled down and put his arms around the jaguar's neck as she ran up to him. Though the 'spell' Sarita had cast the previous night had worn off a few hours ago, the emotions it created were real. He was starting to fall in love with the werecat, and she with him. Sarita closed her eyes as she leaned her head against his chest. When she saw the jet crash, she was so afraid for him, and was very relieved to find he was unhurt.

__

It had to have been Stephen! He can cause technological devices to break down. That's a big part of why many of us don't use modern weapons.

"Great. Yet another reason to kill that bastard!"

Sar lifted her head to look up at him. She couldn't see his eyes through the mask, but she knew the tone in his voice. He meant it, but she feared for him. He was not a Killi, and no matter how strong he was, no matter how well he could fight, he still didn't stand much change against Angelida and her pack. But she knew she wouldn't be able to talk him out of it. They were all in too deep now. She turned, and looked back toward the building.

__

It's almost midnight.

"Right. Let's go."

Sawgrass had landed next to them, and now took wing again, circling overhead as the pair walked toward the ruined factory. As they were about to cross the factory's parking lot, Sarita suddenly stopped. She winced, and her rainbow-colored wings began to darken and shrivel. They dropped off, turning to dust on the ground. T-Bone looked concerned.

"What happened?"

__

I'm fine. The wings are not permanent. The Gift wears off after about a half hour or so.

He just nodded. Nothing much about her seemed to surprise him anymore. They crossed the parking lot quickly, not wanting to be in the open. Sarita's eyes began to take on a faint reddish glow in the darkness. The door of the factory was still kicked in, and obviously hadn't been trapped in any way that they could notice. T-Bone had his glovatrix ready and Sarita shifted up to her powerful chatro form, standing nearly five feet at the shoulder and her long saber-like fangs ready to tear into any opponents she came across. The two cautiously entered the building, looking around in the darkness. They couldn't see anyone. Sarita roared out, the sound echoing through the open space of the factory.

Above, Sawgrass perched at the edge of the large hole in the roof. The raven's sharp eyes looked down below as he scanned for any threats to his companions. However, he never noticed the dark shape moving stealthily toward him, until it was too late.

Sarita and T-Bone both looked up sharply at the raven's loud scream. The Hellcat roared out in her feline language.

"SAWGRASS?"

Silence. All she could hear for the next several seconds was the pounding of her own heart. An eerie sound, like the laughing-like call of a hyena, then broke the silence. The jaguar pinned her ears and snarled viciously at the spotted lupine as he stood on the edge of the roof, looking down at them through the hole. The dim light cast a green glow to his eyes, and in his jaws, was the lifeless body of the raven! T-Bone couldn't believe it. His blood boiled in anger. He may not have liked the Corax, but the young bird was still a useful ally, and a friend of Sarita and Nakela. He yelled out into the darkness.

"ANGELIDA! Get out here and face us, blood-sucker!"

A dark feminine voice echoed from the shadows ahead of them.

"Gladly..."

They watched as numerous sets of eyes began to appear in the shadows. A massive black shape stepped out of the darkness, followed by many somewhat smaller ones. Darian was in his chatro form, just slightly larger than Sarita. Behind him were more than three dozen of the mutated rats. He stood with his head down, a wicked grin on his muzzle. The giant skinless rats charged, and T-Bone aimed his glovatrix, waiting for them to get just a little closer...

Before he could fire, Sarita opened her jaws wide and gave a deafening roar. It created a powerful shock wave that hit the rats, sending most of them flying backward several feet, and stunning the ones that were in front of the pack. Before the rats could recover, a massive shape lept out of the darkness behind them. Nakela shifted instantly up to her large Archid form, slashing her powerful claws at the creatures, tearing thee of them apart in a single slash. Sarita then charged Darian as T-Bone also went for the rats.

The panther ran several yards away from the pack of rats, and more specifically, the dragon. It was the other Bastet that was to be his opponent. As Sarita approached, he grinned, and laughed. Sar slowed down, and stopped her charge about two yards from the black-furred werecat, snarling viciously, her short tail lashing and ears pinned. The two powerful beats began to circle each other, and Darian taunted her in their own language of Kheuar.

"Are you _really _playing a puss-in-boots to that 'kat'?"

She snarled viciously.

"Che... You're a fine one to talk, lap-cat!"

"HA! Better to be a 'lap-cat' to one of the most powerful creatures on this world, than to be a stray to be put down! Besides, it does have it's advantages..."

"Well, I think it's time that both you and your master got _declawed_!"

She lunged, her jaws wide, and the panther dodged aside, her long fangs barely missing tearing into his hide. He spun, and slashed at her with his sharp claws. They both for-went the use of any Gifts. They were evenly matched as far as size, strength, and speed. This fight would be a primal battle as it was meant to be between the two powerful cats.

Nakela swung her powerful tail, the bony spikes tearing into one of the rats as three others were sent flying from the impact. One rat lunged at T-Bone and he managed to catch it mid air, hitting it hard with his fist and sending the horrid creature flying several feet. They were large, but thankfully they weren't that strong. He had already managed to take out three of them in the very short time, but the real shock came when something hit him hard from behind, knocking him to the ground. He rolled over onto his back, his glovatrix aimed and about to fire at the enemy, but he froze in shock.

"_Razor_?"

The smaller SWAT Kat stood over his friend, a dark smile on his face.

"You made a big mistake, T-Bone. You think they actually 'captured' me? No! I _chose _this!"

The tabby slowly got to his feet, stunned at his friend's strange behavior.

"Razor... what the heck are you talking about? These creatures are evil!"

He shrugged.

"That's a matter of perspective. And personally, I'm _sick _of always having to put my neck on the line for this damned city, who really couldn't care less about us! I'm through with it!"

"No! This isn't you! Come on, buddy... Us becoming the SWAT Kats was _your _idea!"

"And a stupid one! I've finally decided where I really stand."

"NO! Razor, snap out of it! It's that damned vampire! You've got to break her control on you!"

"Control? Ha! No, Ange has shown me what I've denied myself to realize over these past years. And personally, I _like _the abilities she gave me!"

The smaller kat then jumped up with incredible speed, twisting in mid-air and kicking T-Bone in the chest, _hard_. The tabby was thrown back several feet, landing hard on his back. Before he could get up, Razor had closed the distance, and kicked him in the ribs, flipping him over from the strength of the impact. T-Bone yelled out in pain as the ginger kat then stomped hard on his back.

"I'm faster, and _stronger _than before. Stronger even than you, T-Bone!"

He kicked him again, in the face. T-Bone fought back the pain, both physically and emotionally. He slowly got up to his hands and knees, spitting out a small bit of blood from his split lip.

"Razor... you traitor..."


	30. Chapter 30

Nakela jerked forward, snapping her jaws shut on another pair of the vicious giant rats. They apparently had no fear, and continued to swarm her, sinking their sharp teeth into her legs as she fought with her strong claws and powerful fangs. Several rats jumped onto her muscular tail and bit down. Her bright green feathers were becoming stained with her own blood, but the wounds were also slowly healing themselves back over.

She swung her tail, throwing most of the creatures off. As she came around, her jaw dropped in surprise. She saw T-Bone a few yards off, being attacked by Razor!

'No! He's turned!'

The dragon roared out, and was about to charge the smaller kat, but then screamed out in pain as powerful claws ripped into her back. She bucked, and threw the heavy creature off of her. The large crinos werewolf landed on one knee, looking up at the dragon, his sharp silver claws dripping with her blood. She snarled viciously, and scraped her talons across the ground, honing them to razor-sharpness. Ignoring the few remaining rats, she charged the lupine. She may not have been born a warrior, but she was still Mokole. And she still _could _fight!

She jumped forward, her powerful pair of two-foot long rear claws raised to slash. The Garou dodged, but she was ready this time. She spun around, slashing with a foreclaw as she landed. This caught Stephen in the arm. He snarled, and slashed at the dragon, his own claws tearing into her left leg as he moved around her. The powerful tail swung at him, but he jumped, dodging the blow of the sharp spikes.

Nakela snarled and snapped her jaws, missing by only inches as his claws left deep stinging gashes across her snout. Nakela continued to press her attack, but the powerfully built werewolf was clever, and kept dodging just out of her reach. He never let himself get close enough to do much damage to her, but his claws were made of silver, and the numerous small wounds would not heal. The dragon fought back the burning pain, but it was slowly beginning to wear her down.

.

The loud roar caught Razor's attention, and he turned his head to see the large dragon preparing to attack. T-Bone took the instant of distraction and lunged forward, hitting Razor hard in the gut with his fist. The smaller kat staggered back from the blow, but managed to dodge T-Bone's second swing. He caught the tabby's wrist and brought his knee up into T-Bone's sternum. The tabby doubled over in pain, but managed to swing again with his free hand. Razor released his wrist and jerked back, but not quite fast enough as the larger kat's fist caught him in the jaw, throwing him backward.

T-Bone then lunged forward again, tackling the smaller kat and throwing them both to the ground. The pair were used to sparring quite often to keep their skills sharp, but this was very different. It was deadly serious. And worse, the vampire blood increased the smaller kat's own incredible speed and agility, as well as his strength. T-Bone was strong, but the vampire blood in Razor's system made them evenly matched in that regard. The tabby found himself at a serious disadvantage, but his blood boiled with anger and he had a strong will.

The kats wrestled about, exchanging blows as each tried to gain the upper hand on the other. T-Bone knew that this was _not _going to end well, but it had become a fight for his very survival, and he knew he had to stop his friend. At _any _cost!

.

The pair of werecats fought viciously, biting and clawing at each other. Darian was strong, but Sarita was a fierce, highly-trained warrior. She was born to survive, and her hide was extremely thick, making it harder for the panther to damage her. The jaguar's head was also broader and thicker than the black leopard, with much more jaw strength. Darian ShadowClaw knew that the Hellcat's powerful jaws were her greatest weapon, and made sure to avoid her getting a grip on him with them.

The two saber-tooths battled savagely, tearing fiercely at each other with sharp claws and powerful fangs. Even in chatro form, both were also very athletic, adding to the difficulty of each being able to cause serious damage to the other. Sarita focused more on attacking with her jaws, trying to pierce her long fangs into the panther for a strong grip. If she could just get a good hold on him, she knew she could end this quickly. But Darian was no fool. He held his rage in better than the jaguar.

ShadowClaw made sure to keep well away from those deadly jaws, instead working to slash with his foreclaws through her tough hide. Both cats were covered in numerous shallow slash wounds, their fur becoming damp and sticky with blood. As they twisted and lunged, small splatters of dark red flew from the felines, creating a thin red film on everything within six yards of them.

Sarita was deadly focused on the battle. Too focused. She failed to notice the small black-clad figure moving quickly through the shadows. That is, until the silver-edged blade cut deep into her right flank. He howled out in pain and rage. She then spun quickly around, her strong left fore-paw swiping across with claws fully extend at her attacker. Ange dodged nimbly out of the way as Darian came forward, sinking his long fangs deep into Sarita's shoulder and jerking her back, away from the vampire. The panther locked his grip.

Sarita turned and slashed at the black werecat with her own fangs, but couldn't quite reach him. The Hellcat struggled against ShadowClaw's grip, but the panther held tight as her blood stained both her own golden pelt and the black fur of his muzzle. Ange stabbed in again with the blade, but Sar kicked out with her back leg, hitting the vampire square in the chest and sending her flying backward several feet onto her back. The jaguar's claws could not cut through the kevlar armor however, and the vamp just stood back up, unharmed.

The golden cat threw herself sideways, flipping onto her right side, and jerking the panther off his paws as he held his grip. He fell on top of her and she curved her body in, bringing both of her hind feet forward to slash deeply into the panther's stomach. He roared out in pain, releasing his grip on her shoulder. Now it was her turn. She jerked her head up and bit down hard into his shoulder, her long fangs just barely missing the vein in his lower neck. Sarita got back to her feet and jerked hard, throwing the black werecat. A large chunk of flesh and fur came off in her jaws, leaving a bloody spray that turned her face red with the splatter.

By that time, Ange had closed the distance again and stabbed her machete deep into Sarita's shoulder at the base of her neck. Sar spun around quickly and locked her powerful jaws onto the vampire's right arm before she could pull away. Ange hissed in pain, a fierce red glow in her hazel eyes. She could feel the pressure of the jaguar's jaws crushing down through the kevlar, crushing the bone in her arm.

Darian got back to his feet again and roared out, charging the other Bastet. He lunged, and sank his fangs deep into the top of Sar's neck. She was badly hurt and bleeding in numerous places. But she would not release her grip. She summoned forth one of her stronger Gifts, and pushed the pain away. She couldn't feel it, and it didn't hinder her. One way or another, this battle would end in death. If it was hers, then so be it. So long as the took the Asura-spawn down with her!

With her free hand, Ange drew the Baretta from it's holster at her hip. She fired the gun, at point blank range, right into Sarita's skull! The jaguar howled out in rage and agony as the silver burned it's way inside of her. But somehow, it _didn't _kill her. She felt the rage. Felt the fury. But she held it back. Not yet.

The vampire jerked away from the cat and pulled the machete back out of her flesh. She glanced over her shoulder at the others. Stephen was slowly wearing down the dragon, but their fight could still go either way. Razor and T-Bone were still fairly even in their own fight, but she knew that she could turn that one in her favor. She threw the gun.

"RAZOR!"

The smaller kat managed to kick the tabby away from him, then jumped back several feet. He glanced briefly over his shoulder at hearing Ange's voice, then caught the gun that she had thrown to him. T-Bone had lunged at him again, but stopped dead in his tracks as Razor turned to face him again, now holding the gun.

"Razor... don't do this!"

"Sorry buddy. But it's over! You loose!"

He fired. T-Bone jerked back from the force of the bullet as it slammed hard into his left shoulder, just above the heart. The pain was intense as the silver bullet, at point-blank range, ripped through him, shattering bone. T-Bone fell backward onto the floor. Razor took a few more steps, and now stood over him, aiming the gun down at his former friend.

"I wish it didn't have to end like this, pal. Good-bye."

He never had a chance to pull the trigger, as a powerful force slammed hard into him, sending the kat flying across the room. Nakela snarled viciously as she moved to stand over T-Bone, her long muscular tail lashing. Some distance away, Stephen was slowly getting back to his feet, after having been hit hard by the same tail, a large puncture wound in his thigh from one of the spikes.

Fighting to remain conscious, the jaguar, her fur now a deep blood red rather than shinning gold, roared out to her friend. She knew that Nakela could understand Kheuar, even if she couldn't speak it.

"NAKELA! Get T-Bone and get out of here! NOW!"

The Mokole jerked her long reptilian head around, her crest feathers raised like a cat would prick it's ears.

"I'm not leaving you!"

"Yes you are! Get out of here! Don't let me die knowing I couldn't protect the two of you!"

Nak's crest feathers went flat against her head. She looked at the bloody cat, near death, and knew she was right. Reptiles can't cry, and yet a single small tear welled up in each of the dragon's eyes, though they never fell. Her lover was dying, and there was nothing she could do about it. Sarita fought all her life to protect both the Earth Mother, and those she had loved. That included her. And, she knew, Chance. The dragon nodded to the Hellcat. Somehow, she had to make sure that she and the kat both survived.

Sarita knew she had nothing left. Nothing, but one final resort. She let herself go. She let the rage take control. The silver bullet had cut deep into her skull, and seriously damaged a portion her brain. She couldn't feel pain, but she didn't know if it was because of the effects of the Gift, or the bullet's damage. She felt the rage build, and let her beast go.

The Hellcat once again earned her name as, despite all odds, she regained her feet, even with the half-ton were-panther on top of her, his jaws locked firmly on the back of her neck. She bucked, rearing straight up in the air, in an attempt to dislodge the black cat. He dug his claws deep into her flesh, holding on with all his strength. She had broken into frenzy. He knew that if he lost his hold now, he wouldn't stand a chance against her mad rage.

Sarita bucked and spun, fighting desperately to dislodge the panther's hold on her as her own life-blood drained away through the uncountable wounds. Angelida, seeing her chance, waiting until the next time the cat reared, then ran forward. She stabbed her blade deep into Sar's throat, severing the trachea and main artery. Blood splattered thickly from the wound, but still the cat fought. The vampire pulled the blade out again just as Sarita came back down onto all four paws. The Hellcat lunged forward, her blue eyes glazed over with unseeing madness. Ange stabbed again. The Hellcat once again caught the vampire's arm in her jaws, but it didn't matter. The machete pierced her skull, right through her forehead. The jaguar fell, a strong shudder wracking her powerful body. Then, she went still, and the crushing jaws went slack. Ange pulled her arm out from between the long fangs and Darian slowly released his grip on the spotted cat.

"SARITA!"

Nakela couldn't move. She couldn't run, couldn't fight. She could only watch as the werecat which whom she had spent the past nine years of her life, her companion through many trails and hardships... her lover... fell from the vicious power of the vampire. And the vampire still lived! All four of their enemies still lived!

T-bone was also in shock. He couldn't get up through the pain in his shoulder. However, it was still nothing compared to the pain in his heart. His best friend, his 'brother', had turned on him. Had tried to kill him! _Would _have killed him, were it not for the were-dragon. And now Sarita, the fierce warrior from another world whom he found himself falling in love with, was also dead.

Both the kat and the dragon were seriously wounded, and now found themselves literally backed into a corner. They were badly outnumbered as the powerful creatures began to slowly encircle them. Nakela had told Sarita that she would save herself and T-Bone. But now, she simply couldn't see any means of escape, save death itself...


	31. Chapter 31

"Lieutenant! You were ordered to stand down! Return to base _immediately_!"

"Shove it, Steele!

Felina shut off the radio and continued on her course. Her co-pilot looked at her, a slightly worried expression on his face.

"You do know we're going to get in _big _trouble for this."

"Yeah, I know. But I _know _I saw the Turbokat crash, and I _am _going to find out what happened!"

"Copy that, Lieutenant."

The chopper continued to fly quickly on toward the building. As it neared, the pair of Enforcers heard a loud animalistic roaring from the abandoned litter factory.

"What the heck was that! Officer, shine the light over there!"

The other Enforcer did as the Lieutenant ordered and turned on the bright spot light, shinning it down through the hole in the roof of the ruined building. He couldn't believe what he saw.

"HOLY KATS!"

Felina looked closer at the massive creatures, then noticed someone familiar.

"It's T-Bone! He's wounded! Get us in closer! Quickly!"

Angelida looked up, shielding her eyes from the sudden bright light and snarling viciously. She turned and quickly ran into the shadows, along with Darian, Stephen & Razor.

"Blast it! What the Hell are they doing? I gave orders for them to stay away!"

Felina saw the group of attackers run out of sight. She almost swore that she saw Razor among them. What the heck was going on? But T-Bone was down, obviously injured. The giant dinosaur-like creature stood between him and the others as they fled, and appeared to have been protecting him. She unstrapped herself from her seat, yelling at the Officer as she ran to the chopper's side door.

"Bring her down low! I'm lowering the rope ladder!"

The feathered dragon looked up and roared viciously at the sudden blaring light and the sound of the chopper. A female's voice then came over the chopper's loudspeaker as a rope ladder lowered from it.

"T-Bone! I'm going to try to get you out of there! Can you get to the ladder?"

The tabby struggled to get up, holding a hand firmly over the bleeding wound in his shoulder.

"Nak, it's Felina! She's a friend!"

The dragon looked back up the chopper, then moved aside, still keeping herself in between the wounded kat, and the enemies she knew where still lurking in the shadows. T-Bone grabbed the ladder and wrapped his arms through the ropes. He didn't have the strength to climb up, but he didn't have to. Felina immediately began to bring the ladder back up once he had a good grip on it. At the last moment, Nak jumped up and shifted forms in mid-air, grabbing the ladder as she shrank back into her human form. She climbed in first, then turned around and helped a very surprised Felina pull T-Bone on board.

"Okay! Now get us out of here!"

The other Enforcer pulled back on the chopper's control stick, pulling away from the building. Then a small hole shattered in the glass windshield in front of him, and he slumped forward. The chopper listed fast.

"CRUD!"

Felina struggled to get to the controls and pull the chopper up before it crashed. A bullet wound could be clearly seen in the Enforcer's throat, and had obviously killed him instantly. The she-kat managed to gain control of the chopper and pulled it quickly up and away from the building. Once they had enough distance, she looked back over her shoulder at T-Bone and the strange creature that vaguely resembled a fur-less she-kat.

"What the heck is going on? What were those things?"

T-Bone hissed in pain and Nak pressed a part of her skirt that she had ripped off against his wound, trying to stifle the bleeding. She had numerous bleeding slash wounds on her own body, but they weren't as bad as the tabby's.

"It's a long story, Lieutenant. I promise I'll explain later. Just get us out of here!"

"Where's Razor?"

"Gone..."

She could hear the pain in his voice. Something terrible had definitely happened to the other SWAT Kat.

"We need to get you to the hospital."

"No! Get us out of the city! It's too dangerous to stay here."

She was about to protest, but the pain and anger in the kat's voice made her decide that it might be best not to argue just now. Although she would certainly demand answers later. She turned the chopper and headed away from Megakat City, out toward the mountains.

.

Angelida lowered her rifle, glaring at the chopper as it regained control and flew away. She spun around angrily to face Razor.

"Who the Hell was that?"

He took a step back, surprised by her sudden outburst of fury.

"Lieutenant Felina Feral. She's Commander Feral's niece."

"Well... the Lieutenant might just have to share the same fate as her uncle. Or worse!"

The vampire turned and walked back into the open area of the building, looking around.

"Hmph. Well, the other SWAT Kat is badly wounded, and the Mokole doesn't have the ability to heal him. Or herself. They should be easier to deal with now that the Hellcat's dead."

Stephen walked over to the lifeless body of the Balam and kicked it's side.

"What do you want to do with this thing?"

Ange walked over to stand beside him, looking at the powerful creature. A dark smile formed on her lips.

"Skin her. I want to stuff and mount this bitch! Where's Chigger? I want that bird too. CHIGGER!"

She heard a soft sound that was like a cross between a hyena and a dog. Looking up, she saw the small lupus form jumping down from the rafters where he had been hiding near the building's far corner. He carried the dead raven in his jaws, and brought it quickly over to his mistress. Ange kneeled down beside the massive chatro jaguar and pulled out her hunting knife.

Razor had to turn away as the vampire began to skin the huge cat with practiced skill. The vampire blood made him fiercely loyal to Ange, but it still didn't make him cruel like they were. In the back of his mind, he _really _didn't want to harm T-Bone, but he couldn't fight the urge to obey the vampire's orders. Tentatively, he approached his mistress.

"Ange? What'll happen now?"

She didn't look up form her work. The hide was badly damaged from the fight, and she wanted to keep it in the best shape she could.

"_Now_, we begin the next part of my plan."

"Which is?"

She paused, her feline ears turned backward in annoyance.

"Which _is_, taking over this city!"

He walked away, gaining some cold glares from the others. There was a tight knot in the pit of his stomach.

It took nearly half an hour for the vampire to finish her work. After that, she folded up the large pelt, and turned to walk off.

"Razor, Chigger, with me. Darian, Stephen... burn this place to the ground!"


	32. Chapter 32

The chopper finally landed on a low, flat area in the mountains, many miles from Megakat City. As soon as the rotors shut off, Felina got up and ran to grab the medical kit. She knelt down beside T-Bone opposite the strange fur-less creature.

"Okay, let me see that wound."

Nakela glanced over at her.

"It's bad. Bullet's very deep. Almost went straight through but shattered through the shoulder blade and became lodged in the bone. Barely missed a main artery from the heart as well."

The she-kat looked at the female in surprise.

"How the heck do you know that?"

"Because I have medical training. I'm not a doctor, but I still know enough to deal with things like this. Unfortunately, I've had to remove bullets in the field before, too many times."

T-Bone was starting to loose consciousness from the blood loss. Felina took over putting pressure on the wound with the piece of cloth ripped from Nak's skirt as the human opened the medical kit and began pulling things out, setting them aside on the floor.

"Damn. This thing's pretty well loaded."

She pulled out a syringe and pulled off the cap,.seeing the miniscule drop already forming on the tip of the needle. Felina looked at her in surprise as she gripped T-Bone's arm in one hand, the syringe in the other.

"You're going to sedate him?"

"Have to. That bullet has to come out."

"You can't remove a bullet here if it's that deep!"

T-Bone coughed lightly, a small bit of blood splattering onto his lips.

"Felina, trust her. She knows what she's doing."

Without further protest, Nakela injected the contents of the syringe into T-Bone's arm. As the sedative began to take affect, she pulled out several bandages and gauze pads, along with the alcohol scrub pads a pair of hemostats.

"Damn. Not long enough. But we don't have a choice. Do you have any water and some form of cloths or towels?"

"Yeah, there's a few water bottles. But nothing as far as towels."

Nak took over holding pressure the wound as Felina retrieved the bottles.

It only took a few minutes before the tabby was fully sedated. Nak had extensive field training on removing bullets thanks to having spent almost a decade with Sarita. Felina was surprised at how quickly, and how precisely, the female worked. It only took about fifteen minutes to remove the bullet and clean, pack & wrap the wound. Nak then rinsed her hands with a small amount of the remaining water and wiped the blood off on her skirt, which was already bloody anyway. Felina looked curiously at the bullet.

"What kind of metal is this?"

"Silver."

"_Silver_? Who would make bullets out of silver?"

"The bullet wasn't meant for him. That just happened to be the nearest gun for them to use when they shot him. The bullet was made for... for my friend and me. We... we're Shifters. 'Were-beasts'."

"Were-beasts, huh? Well, I've seen stranger things. But, where's your friend?"

Nakela looked down sadly. She didn't have to answer the question. Felina could see the answer in the tears that began to well up in her eyes, although the woman refused to let them fall yet.

"Oh, I'm sorry. But... what about Razor?"

"That's... harder to explain. T-Bone told you he was 'gone'. Let's just leave it at that for now."

"Okay... Well then, how about this one. You say that you're a were-beast. But what _exactly _are you?"

Myself, and the others you saw in the building, are not from this world. The world we come from is similar, but also different. What you see know is my 'human' form. Humans in my world, are the kats of yours. And my name is Nakela, by the way. Nakela Waterhawk, though you can also just call me 'Nak'."

"Lieutenant Felina Feral. So... if you're not from this world... how did you get here? And how do you know T-Bone and Razor?"

"How I got here is a very good question. My companions and I were battling the others, the 'Fallen Ones', when a strange vortex pulled us all up, and dropped us here."

"Sounds like the Pastmaster's work."

"That's what they said. T-Bone and Razor were the first kats we met on this world. We knew we had to stay hidden while at the same time trying to locate, and stop, the Fallen Ones. They said they would keep our secret, if we would keep theirs."

"Huh? What secret?"

"Who they really are."

"You _know_?"

"Yes. And since you obviously do not, I can say no more about it."

For the next three hours, Nakela told Felina what she could about the vampire Angelida, and she was doing. She told her also of Sarita & Sawgrass, and of the fight in the old factory. She made sure to leave out anything that could suggest at T-Bone's true identity, and Felina certainly respected that. Felina then filled her in on certain events that she felt could be connected to the vampire. Particularly the fact that her uncle was shot, and was now in a coma, the previous night when the Metallikats supposedly robbed the bank, which Nak then explained was apparently a trap for the SWAT Kats set up by Angelida. When Felina told the shifter of how Steele seemed to have changed over the past few weeks, the woman immediately knew why.

"He's been ghouled. He was made to drink the vampire's blood and now serves her loyally. Which means she now has control over the Enforcers."

"That's why we were ordered away from the building and the crash tonight!"

"Which means that she knows you are the one who rescued us. And that puts you in very grave danger."

"Speaking of danger..."

They both looked up at the sound of a group of choppers rapidly nearing them. Nakela quickly got up and moved over to the still unconscious T-Bone.

"Come on! We've got to get out of here!"

Felina helped her, and they both struggled to carry the tabby out of the chopper. Nakela looked around, and found a small crevasse nearby.

"In there! Quickly!"

"It's too shallow! They'll spot us!"

"No they won't. Trust me!"

They managed to get T-Bone over to the crevasse, hiding him and Felina in the small crack in the stone. The choppers were almost on them. As soon as they came over the next ridge they'd spot the trio. Felina looked back up at the human.

"There's no way all three of us can fit in here! And they _will _see us!"

"No they won't! Just keep down and stay quiet!"

Before Felina could say another word, Nakela shifted down to her Suchid form. The she-kat's jaw dropped in surprise at the almost nine-foot alligator. Nakela used her reptilian body to conceal the entrance of the crevasse and the two kats inside. She then inacted one of her strongest Gifts, effectively hiding herself, and the kats.

The area was only large enough for one of the three choppers to land. The other two hovered just overhead, the spot-lights scanning the area. Several times the bright lights moved over the alligator, but never seemed to notice her. Feline barely dared to even breathe as her heart pounded, every instinct inside her telling her to prepare to fight.

Two armed Enforcers got out of the landed chopper, guns held at the ready, and they searched the other chopper. After about a minute, they exited it again, and Felina could hear one of them speaking on the radio.

"The co-pilot's dead. Shot. No sign of the Lieutenant or the SWAT Kat, but there's a lot of blood in there, and not from the Officer either... Yes sir. Understood."

Aided by the spot lights from the choppers still in the air, the pair of Enforcers searched the small area. Felina could hear them approach, and she tensed, anticipating to be found. She could hear the footsteps from their heavy boots on the stone only inches from the crevasse, but they never found them! After what felt like an eternity, they ended their search and returned to Felina's chopper. Cables lowered from the two in the air, and the Enforcers hooked the chopper to them, then got back into their own. They took off and flew back to Megakat City, taking Felina's chopper with them.

Only once everything was completely quiet again did Nakela dare to move. Felina crawled back up out of the narrow crack and looked at the alligator.

"I don't understand? How did they not find us? They didn't even seem to see you?"

Nakela shifted back up to her homid form, brushing sand and dust off her arms and legs.

"My kind are able to use a form of magic granted to us by Spirits. I simply created a common illusion, making myself appear to be nothing more than another of the thousands of large rocks around here."

"Wow. Nice trick. Of course now we've got a serious problem."

"Yeah. We've got to find a safe place to hide before they come back for a more thorough search. And mountains isn't exactly a terrain I've had much experience with."

"Well, there's not much we _can _do until T-Bone wakes up."

"Agreed. Let's just hope it's soon."

The Mokole turned and looked in the direction of the distant city, forcing away the tears that again attempted to form in her eyes.

'Sarita... I really wish you were here. You'd know exactly what to do...'


	33. Chapter 33

T-Bone's injuries were bad, and Nakela was unable to heal him like Sarita could. Felina was concerned about the were-dragon's wounds as well, but Nak assured her that they would heal in less than a week with no chance of infection. They knew that the Enforcers would be back soon, if not the vampire herself, to search for them. They had to move. It was slow going, as T-Bone's left arm was pretty well useless due to the damage of the bullet. Without surgery, there was no way the broken shoulder blade would heal properly. His ribs also hurt, but Nak assured him they were only bruised, not broken. As much as all three knew that the tabby desperately needed to remain still and rest, they also knew that they had to get away from there, fast.

Nakela retook her powerful feathered dragon form, and closed her eyes, lifting her long head high. After a few moments, the looked back down at the two kats.

"Our best bet is to find a place to hide near water. That's to the east."

T-Bone _really _did not like having to be carried by the dragon, but there was no way we could win an argument against the two females in the shape he was in. It took a little more convincing for Felina to agree to ride on the dragon's back, but they were able to move much faster that way.

The sun was just coming up as they crossed over another ridge, and saw the old Katchu Pichu ruins several miles off. Nak lifted her head again, and again activated the Gift that allowed her to locate water. They were much closer now, and this time she could actually sense where it was. They traveled down into a valley. Felina looked around.

"There's nothing here!"

"There is. But it's not on the surface. I'll show you."

She kneeled down so that the two kats could get off, then she walked over to a where an old avalanche had covered part of the valley wall many years ago. Using her clawed hands, she carefully began moving several of the large boulders out of the way. After several minutes of digging, a small cave was revealed under the rocks. She then re-took her homid form.

"I have the ability to see in pitch-blackness, so I'll go in first. Wait here."

Cautiously, she entered the narrow passage, and headed down into the darkness. After about twenty minutes, Felina was started to get restless.

"That's it, I'm going in."

"Don't. She can handle herself. If she says she can do something, chance's are that she can."

The female Enforcer looked over at the SWAT Kat curiously as she paced.

"How exactly did you meet her? She told me that she and the others were pulled through what can only be assumed as one of the Pastmaster's vortexes, and you & Razor were the first ones they met."

"Yeah, they ended up near our hidden base. It was actually a bit amusing."

"And there were three of them?"

'Yes. Nakela, a very irritating raven named Sawgrass, and..."

Felina could hear the hurt in his voice.

"And Sarita, the were-jaguar. Nakela told me about her."

"Yeah. She was the warrior of the group."

"You cared for her? Didn't you?"

He looked curiously at the she-kat. The Enforcer really didn't miss much.

"Not at first. But..."

She smiled.

"I understand. And I'm sorry about what happened to her."

T-Bone was about to say something else, but then a light appeared in the cave. After a moment, Nakela returned carrying a torch.

"You two are not gonna believe this! Come on!"

They carefully made their way through the narrow tunnel. T-Bone had the hardest time due to his badly injured shoulder. At length, the tunnel finally opened up, and the kats stared at the sight before them. Several miles from the site of the Katchu Pichu ruins, was another smaller pyramid, hidden beneath the mountain. T-Bone really didn't like the idea of another Katchu Pichu pyramid after what happened last time. Felina though was a little more impressed.

"Wow. This thing's got to be hundreds of years old!"

Nakela walked toward the open doorway of the temple with the torch.

"I'd say more a couple thousand. It's much like the ancient pyramids of Sarita's ancestors back home. There's a natural spring deep inside. And the Gauntlet here is very thin. It will be easy to restore my gnosis here."

"You're what?"

Nakela smiled back at the she-kat.

"My 'magic'. And the Gauntlet is the boundary between the physical world and the Umbra. The Spirit World."

T-Bone had to smirk at the she-kat's confused expression.

"You'll get used to that part eventually."

****

.

Angelida screamed out in pleasure. She held her strong legs wrapped tightly around the lithe kat's waist, not allowing him to pull back or stop even if he wanted to. The vampire knew that blood-bound ghouls served their masters due to what they believed was unconditional love, even if it was an artificial, perverse form of it. Reinforcement of that to the more willfull servants ensured that the loyalty remained strong. The slim male was surprisingly energetic and agile, a considerable change from her were-panther lover.

She screamed out again as the kat continued to thrust fast and hard against her. She enjoyed the nights she spent with him, much to Darian's displeasure. It was several hours before the two finally rolled apart. Jake lay on his back, breathing hard. Even with the supernatural strength and stamina that the vampire's blood gave him, her appetite seemed to be insatiable. Ange lay there for a few moments, then calmly got up and put her clothes back on. Jake rolled over onto his side, watching her.

"You're leaving?"

"It's only a few more hours until dawn. And I have work to do."

"Why don't you ever stay here?"

"I told you, I prefer the darkness of my own havens. There's just too much sunlight here. Now, if you ever decided to stay with me..."

Jake sighed. He knew the two places where she preferred to sleep. One was Viper's lair deep in the swamp. There was no way he was staying anywhere near the snake. And the other... He shivered at the thought. Angelida was a skilled taxidermist, and he had seen what she had done to Sarita and Sawgrass. It had been almost two weeks since the battle in the old warehouse where the pair of shifters were killed, and he had tried to kill Chance. The nightmares still plagued him. Just when it seemed they had finally stopped, they began again anew.

"Has there been any word about Chance? Or Nak and Felina?"

Ange was fastening the leather belt around her waist, making sure the weapons attached to it were still secure.

"No. I've had the Enforcers scour the mountains surrounding where the chopper was found. There's no sign of them. They couldn't possibly have gotten too far though. That damned over-grown lizard is good at hiding, but I doubt even she could do well in that barren terrain. With any luck their corpses area already rotting up there."

"You don't think there's anyway they came back to the city? To Sarita's Den Relm?"

"No way they would have gotten that far. I have spies all over this city. Not to mention that the Enforcers are still looking for them too. They _are _wanted for murder, you know. And anyway, Chigger is one Hell of a tracker. He tells me they're still in the mountains. I could send him to find them, but why soil my own hands with dealing with them again? Stephen's still pissed about that gator's bite wound not healing properly. I had no idea she was venomous."

Angelida then shifted to her black panther form and ran off, out into the night. Jake laid back down for a while, simply staring at the ceiling. He didn't want to sleep. He didn't want to have to deal with the nightmares again. After a while, he got up and put his pants on, then went into the apartment's small living room and turned on the tv. It was early morning, so of course there really wasn't much on. Flipping to the Cat's Eye News channel, he watched the reports. It was mostly just replays from the previous day. No-one watched the real reports at this time of night.

Closing his eyes, the ginger kat thought about everything that had happened in the city since the vampire began her take-over. She had almost full control over the Enforcers, and the SWAT Kats were obviously no more. Surprisingly, the Enforcers were doing an extremely efficient job of eliminating much of the crime in the city. Gangs, mobs, gun-runners, drug dealers, rapists, thieves... all the 'normal' stuff was drying up. It was only a handful of major criminals now. The Omegas. Dark Kat, The Metallikats, Dr. Viper, and Hard Drive. They had almost free-range, though Ange made sure they never did too much damage to _her _city. Even Dark Kat seemed to be obeying the vampire's 'rules'. Jake wondered if the massive purple kat actually feared Angelida, or if maybe she had somehow managed to ghoul him as well.

Manx was still the city's mayor, and Ange made sure no-one ever even so much as whispered her name. But she still had control of City Hall as well. She really _was _in charge of Megakat City, though no-one outside of her own handful of loyal ghouls, and the Omegas, knew that she even existed. He was only glad that she had also made sure that no-one else ever found out who he really was either. Even if the Metallikats and Dark Kat were allied to her, he knew they'd still try to kill him if they found out.


	34. Chapter 34

The white tiguar turned her head, her keen ears pricked.

"This has to be the place."

The jaguar and wolf both looked around, their noses filled with the scents of the jungle.

"How can you be sure?"

"It's a tropical rainforest in the middle of a massive temperate city. What other explanation can there be?"

"Okay, point there."

The red-furred wolf whined slightly.

"But where are they?"

"Hey! Over here!"

The three animals ran quickly to where the fourth had called from.

The wolf and two big cats skidded to a stop at the base of the large tree, and looked up at the other jaguar that stood in the branches. The tree had been shaped so that the branches formed a living den. Even though the albino couldn't see the tree, she still knew it was there. With her mind's eye, she could 'see' what her two brothers could not. And the tree being in the Spirit World certainly helped. But it wasn't the tree itself that caught the tiguar's attention. It was what else was _in _the tree. And scent of blood and decay that hung heavily in the air.

"Great Gaia, what has happened here...?"

****

.

Jake laid on his stomach, his arms folded under his head. Ange had only left a few minutes ago and he was still exausted from the past two hours they had spent together. He really wished the beautiful vampire would stay with him rather than leave each night before the dawn, and some nights he never saw her at all. Still, he was grateful she didn't force him to stay at one of her havens. As her influence in Megakat City grew, she spent more and more time in the labyrinthine tunnels beneath the old warehouse district. It wasn't the location that bothered him, it was who else lived there.

The were-panther, Darian ShadowClaw, seriously gave him the creeps. Jake also knew that Darian hated him, and he feared what would happen if the panther ever caught him alone away from Ange. He shivered at the thought, and pushed it out of his mind. He was tired, and it was early morning now. Closing his eyes, he soon fell asleep.

The dark shadow had been lurking for some time, watching and waiting. As soon as the slim kat was asleep, the black form moved silently from the darkness where he hid. The tightened loops of rope were placed over the top bed-posts, the slip-loops at the other ends loosened.

Jake was suddenly woken up as a large, powerful hand grabbed the back of his neck, pushing him down forcefully. The other hand grabbed his right wrist and put his hand through the loop in the rope, pulling it taught before Jake even had a chance to pull away. The hand released his neck as his other wrist was grabbed and forced through the other slip-loop, the rope pulled tight so that he couldn't get his hands free. Jake pulled himself forward, getting up onto his knees as he struggled against the ropes. He was already exausted from Ange. Jake glared hatefully at the large were-panther who stood over him.

"Darian... what the Hell are you doing?"

The crinos Bageerah reached down and grabbed the slim kat again by the throat, his green-gold eyes starring at him hatefully.

"Ange's the leader of our pride. As such, she is free to do as she chooses. _You _however, are simply one of her ghouls. Nothing more than a pet! And as such, you need to be reminded of your place, kat! Ange is _my _mate, and it's time you learned who the top male is around here!"

"What... what are you talking about?"

Darian released his grip on the kat with a violent shove, then walked around to the end of the bed. Jake's eyes grew wide and he strugled against the ropes with renewed strength brought on by the panic of realizing exactly what the panther meant. But even with the combination of adrenaline and vitae in his system, the ropes were too thick and strong, and the panther too powerful in his full crinos form. Darian grabbed Jake's left ankle and jerked back, pulling him back down onto his stomach, the ropes pulled taught and digging into his wrists.

Jake tried to kick at the panther, but the massive werecat just shrugged off his efforts as he moved onto the bed on his knees. Jake fought with every bit of strength he had but the panther now gripped both his ankles and pulled him back as he drew forward. Jake screamed out in pain as the crinos forced himself on the much smaller kat. Darian was brutal as he raped Jake. His full intent was pain and humiliation, both of which he more than succeeded.

The torment lasted for nearly half an hour. When the panther finally released his victim, Jake had no energy left to fight with, and was in far too much pain to even move. Darian ignored the blood, for he knew the ghoul would be able to heal anyway. Moving casually back to the top of head of the bed, he pulled on the tight knots, releasing Jake's wrists from the rope. The muscles in Jake's arms had been strained, his shoulders nearly pulled out of their sockets, and his wrists were bloody from where the rope had dug into his flesh.

As Darian coiled the rope and prepared to leave, Jake lifted his head and glared weakly at his tormenter.

"When Ange finds out about this she'll..."

The panther lunged forward and grabbed the kat tightly by the neck again, flipping him onto his back and pressing him down forcefully. He snarled viciously as he constricted the throat.

"Who says Ange's _going _to find out about this?"

Jake grabbed the were-cat's wrist and struggled futily against his strong grip, fighting for breath. Darian narrowed his eyes.

"Now listen to me the pathetic little piece of shit, you are never going to breath a _word _of this to Ange! If I even so much as _think _you did, I swear that no torture you could possibly imagine would be anywhere near as bad as what I will do to you! Got it?"

Jake's eyes were closed. He was strugling against the powerful grip, unable to get any air into his lungs. He couldn't speak, but did his best to nod. Satisfied, Darian released his grip and stood up again. Jake gasped for air and rolled back over onto his stomach, coughing violently as the powerful feline left, vanishing back into the shadows from whence he had come.

****

.

The past two weeks had been very difficult on the two Kats. Chance's shoulder and left arm were virtually useless from the damage of his shattered shoulder blade. He knew his days of being T-Bone were now over. Jake had betrayed him, and even tried to kill him. And he knew that he could never fly a jet again. It took a while, but eventually he finally revealed the truth to Felina. About everything. It really didn't even matter anymore anyway.

The she-kat found it as quite a shock, but it also made sense. That they were both former Enforcers certainly explained many of their skills, and of course the salvage yard would have everything they needed for their jet, vehicles, and equipment.

"But there's got to be something you can do?"

"Like what? I'm pretty well useless like this now. Even if we somehow managed to kill that damned blood-sucker, it's still over for me."

Felina had known the tabby for a few years now as T-Bone, and she never thought she'd ever see him like this. The tough, sarcastic fighter pilot was now all but gone. His eyes seemed so much duller, and his spirit broken. She'd always considered T-Bone and Razor to be friends, regardless of what her uncle thought of the pair. They may have been vigilantes, but they had done more good for Megakat City than anyone could have possibly asked for.

The thought of her uncle suddenly dampened Felina's mood as well. He had also been shot, and was in a coma, the night before she left. It had now been about two weeks, and she had no idea what had happened to him. For all she knew, he probably was dead too, if the vampire had her way.

They both jumped suddenly to their feet at a soft sound from outside. The eerie howl echoed down through the tunnel to the cavern, reverberating off the walls of the pyramid within.

"A wolf? Out here?"

Chance shook his head.

"No. They've found us."

Felina quickly drew her gun. Chance may not have been able to use his left arm, but he still had his glovatrix on the right. Two torches burned in the cavern, giving enough light that they should be able to see the werewolf before it could see them once it came out of the tunnel. Hiding in the shadows of the entrance to the pyramid, they waited. Several minutes passed, but they didn't dare move. At length, a shadow moved along the wall as the lupine made it's way down. Once the creature came into view, Felina prepared to fire. Chance noticed the animal, and whispered softly but quickly.

"Wait! That's not one of them."

The wolf lifted it's head sharply, it's ears pricked. It was tall and lean, with a hound-like quality. The eyes were green, and glowed brightly in the torch light.

Felina whispered softly, afraid of the creature hearing.

"Are you sure? It definitely doesn't look like any wolf I've seen before!"

Another shadow appeared behind the wolf. It took a few steps forward and to the side. Chance's heart skipped a beat. A large male jaguar with reddish-gold fur stepped out of the shadows to stand beside the wolf. The feline had several inches on Sarita's felis form and had to be at least a hundred pounds more, all of it muscle.

Chance lowered the glovatrix as he watched the two animals. They were both looking around, ears pricked. The wolf's nose was up as it smelled, and the jaguar's mouth was open, it's lips lifted in padaa the same way Sar always used to. Felina's heart was pounding.

"Damn. What a time for Nakela to be out hunting..."

"Felina, wait here and stay down."

"What? Where are you going?"

Without answering, he stood up and slowly stepped out of the shadows, keeping a wary eye on the two large animals. Both the wolf and the jaguar turned their heads sharply as the tabby stepped forward. The wolf then pinned it's ears and lifted it's lips in a snarl. It dropped it's head and took a few steps back, behind the jaguar. The large spotted feline continued to watch, more with curiosity, as Chance approached a few more yards, then stopped.

The wolf remained where it was, but Chance noticed it held it's head and tail both down. It wasn't being vicious, it was being cautious. The huge jaguar however then slowly began to approach the kat. It's massive paws made not a sound on the stone floor, and it held it's head straight out ahead of it, ears forward, showing no signs of agression.

Felina watched the powerful animal approach her friend, her hand firmly on the gun if she needed to use it in an instant. Chance however remained calm, simply watching the big cat. The jaguar approached to within only two feet of the tabby, then circled him slowly, sniffing him over. As the animal came back around to stand in front of him again, it's ears turned back and it gave a soft growl. Chance spoke softly to it.

"I'm sorry. But I don't understand your language. 'Khuear'?"

The jaguar's ears went straight forward and it lifted it's head in surprise, taking a few steps back. The red wolf also pricked it's ears, and whined softly, which was answered by a soft rumbling growl from the jaguar. Chance flinched slightly, but by now the feeling of having another's voice in his head was somewhat less disconcerting.

__

Who are you? What is your name? And how do you know of us?

"My name is Chance Furlong, and I know of your kind from the Golden Hellcat, Sarita."

Both animals looked up at him, and their jaws dropped. Chance now knew that both were definitely shifters. But what he didn't know, was where they came from. Or, more importantly, how they found him.

Felina watched from the shadows, listening to Chance speak to the animal as if it just asked him a question. 'What the heck...? Has he lost his mind?'

Her mouth fell open in shock at what she saw next. The jaguar took several more steps back, then changed it's form! It grew to stand over nine feet tall, and had to weigh around 800 lbs easy. The powerful creature now stood on it's hind legs, with it's muscular body built similar to that of a kat, though it still retained more animal-like features, such as the head still being the same, and a coarser coat. The were-jaguar kneeled down a bit, so that it's golden-brown eyes were level with Chance's.

"Then you are the one we were sent to find. I am Akin-Cúrri, and this is Two-Tree."

He motioned to the tall red-furred wolf behind him. She had slowly moved forward to stand a few yards away, watching curiously.

"Akin-Cúrri? Then... you're Sarita's _son_?"

The Balam nodded.

"I am. My brother and sister are back in mother's Den Relm in the city. Two-Tree and I were sent to find you and Nakela. We... we know what happened to mother. And to the Corax. And, you can tell your friend in the shadows that she need not fear us."

Chance had to give a soft chuckle. Felina pinned her ears, but then stood up and stepped out of hiding. She still held her gun, although the barrel was now facing down to the ground. The massive were-jaguar smiled, then spoke to the she-kat.

"I would recommend removing your finger from the trigger and locking the safety. This entire place is solid stone. One shot could ricochet multiple times."

That was a surprise. Sarita knew virtually nothing about firearms, and Nekela just plain didn't like them. Yet the Hellcat's son obviously did know. Felina didn't trust the creature, even if Chance obviously did. She flicked on the safety, but still kept a grip on the gun. Chance smirked.

"I think the Lieutenant might be more at ease if you were something a bit less threatening. Sokto?"

Akin flicked his ears. The kat definitely knew a good bit about them. He stood back up, then slowly shifted down, now standing at a slightly less threatening 6' 3". He looked less kat-like than his mother, lacking the short coat of fur and the feline ears, though the more human-like ears were mostly covered by the thick black hair which was pulled back in a loose ponytail. But his skin was still the same color and pattern and he still had the long tail, the last two feet of it with black bands, the gold fur fading to pure white at the tip. Even without the cat-like ears, he still retained some feline features in his handsome youthful face. His body was very powerful, with broad shoulders and well defined muscles. His only clothing was a pair of black leather pants that stopped midway down his lower legs.

Felina finally relaxed, clearly impressed.

"Okay, I can deal with that."


	35. Chapter 35

"DAMNIT!"

Ange swung her fist hard, punching a hole in the stone wall. Her eyes had a fierce red glow.

"JAGUARS? How in the Hell did jaguars get here?"

The small spotted crinos whined and cowered down from his mistress.

"I don't know! But there was also a Garou with them! A red-furred cub!"

The powerful black werewolf stood a short distance away, his arms folded over his broad chest.

"Humph. Sounds like that Backwater runt, Two-Tree. She must have gone down to the Amazon for help when the vortex took us. What did the jaguars look like? What color were their coats? Any black?"

"No. No black. Two gold, one white."

"_White_?"

"Yes. White, with silver swirls, not spots.. And white eyes. Blind, I think."

"Sounds like a metis. Swirls...? Strange. I've never heard of that."

Ange turned and glared at Stephen.

"What the Hell difference does it make what color their damned fur was?"

Darian flicked his ears as he shifted up to Crinos form, still laying stretched out on Ange's bed.

"It makes a difference in the same way it does with us leopards. Gold fur are usually warriors. Black fur means more magic. But white with silver swirls? That _I've _never heard of!"

"Perfect! So we've got the Backwater's cub here with two warrior Balam, and a white metis of unknown tribe. Now, does anyone want to tell me _how _they got here?"

"Umbra."

She turned and glared back at the black werewolf.

"The Spirit World? I thought you said that wasn't possible?"

He simply shrugged.

"Normally, no. They would have needed a powerful Elder to aid them in going to the Deep Umbra. They had to have been traveling for weeks at least. Which means, even though they're here, they probably won't be able to get back."

A low feral growl rumbled from the vampire's throat.

"Find out what you can about these four. I'm going to get ahold of Steele. The Enforcers are going to be going after these 'vicious animals', with orders to shoot to kill!"

She looked over into the corner of her room, at her favorite 'decoration'. Standing on a base of red oak, one paw lifted with claws extended, the powerful jaws open in a vicious snarl, was the stuffed form of the chatro Hellcat, the black raven perched on her back with it's wings extended. Sarita's own claws, fur, and jaws were preserved and mounted. The bitch-cat was dead. If these fools had come to save her, they were too late. Even so, the jaguar tribe's vengeance was legendary, and that was going to cause some serious problems.

****

.

Not long after Akin-Cúrri and Two-Tree left, Nakela had returned. There weren't many animals in the mountains to begin with, and after 2 weeks of hunting, there wasn't much left within several miles now. Two rabbits was the best she could do.

Felina looked at the small creatures.

"Great. Rabbit stew again."

The human shrugged.

"Food is food. And anyway, this is the last time."

"What do you mean?"

"You spoke to Akin and Sarah, right? They went back to get Sarita's daughter, Akis-Bahati. Then we're going back to the city, to the Den Relm."

"Hold it! There is no way we are going to be able to get all the way back to the city, on foot, then through it to the park!"

Chance sat nearby. He really hated having to hide out in the old ruins, but he knew Felina had a point.

"She's right, Nak. There's no way we can make it that far. Not with the blood-sucker running the city. And I'm sure she's still got the Enforcers looking for us."

"True, but we're not going through the city. We're going through the Umbra."

"What? You said that the were-cats can't go into the Spirit World?"

"Bahati can. She has very strong magic. And she even has a Gift she swiped from the Garou, allowing her to bring others with her."

"But what about Stephen?"

"Stephen and Chigger are just two Garou. Even if they find us, there's no way they can hope to defeat the whole pride."

Felina blinked at this news."

"The whole pride? Just how many are there?"

"Sarita's three kits. Akin-Cúrri and Tommy are both strong warriors now, and Akis-Bahati's magic is far stronger than Stephen's. Them plus myself and Sarah makes it five to two against them, and Chigger won't even face that! Stephen knows better."

"Sarah? You mean the red wolf?"

"Yes. Sarah 'Two-Tree' Boyle. She's of the Fianna tribe of Garou."

"You _do _know I still don't know what all these words mean?"

Chance laughed. That line sounded very familiar.

Nakela may have been used to eating food raw, being shifter, but she also was fairly good at basic cooking. The stew was bland unfortunately, but still edible, and one of her Mokole Rituals managed to increase the amount of it so that there was plenty for the three of them. She stood guard the night while the kats slept. They would need it.

Chance and Felina both slept lightly that night, as they had every night since being forced to hide out after the escape from the vampire. Felina woke up first at the feline sounds just outside the pyramid.

"Chance, wake up!"

"Huh?"

"Come on. I think they're here."

As they walked out into the torch light of the cavern, they looked at the strange group of creatures. Chance had gotten used to were-beasts, but the leader of this group surprised even him. In addition to Akin and Two-Tree, were two more large felines. One was another male jaguar, somewhat smaller than Akin, but still larger than his mother had been. The third was the tallest, standing right at three feet at the shoulder, though she was leaner than the two males, probably at around three hundred pounds. She was also built differently. Leaner and less stout, with a longer body & tail, and not quite as boxy a head. She certainly didn't look like a pure jaguar. But the most striking feature was her pelt. Her fur was pure white with silver swirls like a clouded leopard, and the backs of her ears were silver with a white spot in the middle, like a tiger's.

Nakela was still in homid form as she spoke to the animals, which answered her in their own growling feline language. As the kats approached, the group turned to look at them. That's when they got the biggest surprise from the white cat. Felina looked into the animal's eyes.

"She's... she's blind?"

The cat nodded, as did Nakela.

"Yes. Since her birth. But that doesn't mean she can't 'see'. Bahati is a Seer, and can actually see through the Gauntlet into the Spirit World. She can also 'see' with her Mind's Eye, noticing things that others cannot. Her senses of smell and hearing, along with her whiskers, are all extremely sensitive as well."

Chance looked the white tiguar over. He knew nothing of her father, save that he was a were-tiger. But the beautiful creature looked nothing like her powerfully-built mother. She was tall and lean, with a natural grace and beauty that far exceeded even Sarita's. But even through the differences, something about the way she moved still reminded him a bit of the fierce were-jaguar he had come to love.

The albino feline walked up to them, stopping a few feet in front of Chance. She lifted her head to 'look' him over, and he shivered slightly as he could almost feel the cat's pupiless white eyes looking through him, right into his soul.

__

Before we go, we must do something about your wounds.

"You... you can heal my arm?"

Felina gasped. She knew that these creatures could use magic, and Nakela had mentioned something about Sarita being able to heal, but to mend a shattered bone?

__

I can try, but it's already been too long, and has begun to heal on it's own. Before it can be healed properly, it must be re-broken. Only you can make that decision, as there is nothing we can do to ease your pain of it.

He didn't even have to think about it. He knew that re-breaking the bone would cause extreme pain. But it was nothing compared to the pain in his heart at Sarita's death and at Jake's betrayal.

"Yes."

The tiguar nodded, then turned her head to face back over her shoulder in Nak's direction. She 'spoke' in Khuear. Nakela nodded, and walked over to the kats.

"Felina, I need you to back up. Chance, lay down. This is going to hurt like Hell. Tommy, Akin, hold him down."

Felina really didn't like the sound of what was going on, but if they could repair the damage to Chance's shoulder, that would at least be something to help him heal his broken spirit. She backed away as the two male jaguars walked over and both shifted up to their powerful crinos forms. Felina looked with surprise at the younger one, Tommy Far-Thunder, and saw that he actually wore some clothing in the huge war form. It wasn't the loin-cloth and gloves though that caught her attention, it was the ammo-belt slung over his chest, with explosives on it, and the second around his waist, with knives and magazines for a machine gun. The large gun itself was slung over his back!

Chance hating having to be held down for anything, and had to fight the sudden urge to struggle when the two powerful were-jaguars kneeled down and restrained him. They were both exceedingly strong. He expected Nakela to be the one to re-break the bone, but was surprised when Bahati shifted to her sokto form and knelt down by his shoulder. Now he could see her mother in her. She had the same soft, short fur and long hair, though the color was far different, and the same kat-like features. But she was also taller, about 6' 2", and more lightly built. She was also surprising young, still just a teenager!

"Okay, now try not to move. It helps if you close your eyes and try to think of something else."

He did as she asked. The 'something else' turned out to be easier than he thought. For some reason, his mind drifted back to his last night with the white cat's mother. And how he had fallen in love with her. But then reality shot back to him as he yelled out in tremendous pain. With one quick movement, Bahati had re-broken the shattered shoulder blade, wracking his body with searing pain. It was everything that the two crinos brothers could do to hold him down. Nakela and Felina both stood back out of the way, unable to do anything to help their friend's pain.

Bahati then immediately returned to her feline form, and leaned in close to his shoulder. He felt the cat's rough tongue over the wound, and relaxed as he felt the magic flow through him. The pain faded, and he felt a strange tingling inside his shoulder. It only took a matter of seconds, then she backed away and the brothers released their hold on him. Chance slowly sat up, and rolled his shoulder. He moved his arm and flexed the fingers on his hand. He couldn't believe it.

"How... I... Thank you."

Felina's jaw dropped in astonishment. Nakela merely smiled. The white tiguar nodded her head, and Chance could swear he saw a gentle smile in her feline features.


	36. Chapter 36

For two weeks, Chance had feared that he would never have full use of his left shoulder and arm again. He was greatly relieved that the albino were-cat had managed to completely heal him. And he also felt indebted to her, for more reasons than just his arm.

"I don't know how I can repay you, Bahati."

__

I do, but that must wait for later. Now we must go. Come.

Chance walked forward and gently placed a hand on the tiguar's shoulder, motioning for Felina to do the same on the other side of her. He knew the drill now about crossing through the Gauntlet. Nakela and the other three shifters moved to stand around the pride's young leader. Felina looked around a bit nervously at the group of shape-changers.

"Okay, exactly what is going on here?"

Chance smiled.

"We're about to cross over into the Spirit World. It tends to be a bit easier if you close your eyes and simply move forward when she does."

The white tiguar nodded in agreement. Her mother had obviously taught the kat well. Felina tentatively placed a hand on the large creature's shoulder, surprised at how silky-soft and thick the white fur was. She exhaled slowly and closed her eyes. Typically, shifters needed to see their reflection when they stepped through the Gauntlet, but they all joined together around their leader, letting her make the first step so they could all follow trough together. All but Bahati closed their eyes. The cat lifted a paw and slowly took a step. Her milky-white eyes didn't need to focus on her reflection, as they could not see the physical relm anyway. She looked beyond it, at the world in which she was trying to enter, and saw the shimmer of the Gauntlet in front of her. The shimmer surrounded her, and the others moved with her as she took several more slow steps.

Felina's breath caught in her throat as it felt like she was passing through the wall of a thick bubble that wrapped itself around her from the front, then fell away behind her as she moved through it. When the she-kat opened her eyes again, she was they were still in the cavern, the pyramid looming before her. And yet, it was not the same. There was a haze covering everything, and the pyramid wasn't so worn away. It was as if a thousand years of time had reversed on it. And more, there were ghostly creatures of mist, some white and some of pale colors, that seemed to appear and vanish all about her.

"Where the heck are we?"

Chance and Nakela both smiled, and it was the Mokole who answered.

"_This _is the Penumbra. The nearest part of the spirit world."

Bahati nodded, her voice echoing in Felina's mind.

__

Yes. And now we must go. We must travel fast, for I would like to avoid being spotted by the vampire's spies if we can possibly help it. You kats cannot run as fast as we, and so you must travel with us.

The two male jaguars then both shifted up to their powerful, and massive, chatro forms. Felina jumped back in surprise at the giant saber-toothed cats. Chance had thought that Sarita's chatro form was large, but her two sons were certainly larger, each having two to three inches in height on her, and a couple hundred extra pounds of weight as well, all of it muscle. Akin-Cúrri had to be close to three quarters of a ton! The larger male moved to stand beside Felina.

__

Do not be afraid. Get on.

She looked to Chance and Nakela, the human giving her a slight shrug, then forced back any sign of nervousness, and carefully climbed onto the were-jaguar's back. He kneeled down to make it easier for her, but she really didn't need the help. Chance knew Bahati was right about the speed, and he remembered exactly how fast Sarita was able to run in her feline form. Without any protest this time, he got on Tommy's back and held tight to the thick fur of the short dorsal mane. Nakela then shifted up to her archid form. The group took off at a sudden run, lead by Bahati _into _the opening of the pyramid. Inside, all was no longer shadows. A golden light seemed to illuminate the walls, bringing the ancient hieroglyphs to life with a soft glow. They ran swiftly down the main corridor, and everything ahead of them began to swirl into mist. The silver mist bordered a pathway of blackness, lit by tiny white dots, like stars. Bahati then slowed her pace, allowing the others to pass her. Akin took the lead as he ran along the pathway.

As soon as they entered the mist, everything changed. Looking behind them, they could see the inside of the pyramid through the mist's swirl, but everything around and ahead of them was now blackness. They were running through the very night itself, the stars shinning brightly everywhere around them. The waning moon hung low in the distance, and they could see to the east a soft glow. It was morning, but still very early, and the sun had not yet risen. But they could see no trace of it, or of the land beneath them. There was nothing but endless space and stars. As Bahati passed through the barrier, it closed behind her, and the ancient temple-pyramid could no longer be seen. The only thing that stood out against the stars was the silver path on which they ran. It could have been only a few minutes, or it could have been an eternity. The kats seemed to loose all sense of time in the void.

At length, another swirl of silver mist appeared ahead of them on the path. Through the swirl they could now see green. It wasn't long before they were close enough for Chance to recognize what he saw beyond the portal. Rainforest! Sarita's Den Relm! As Bahati ran in the rear of the pride, the silver path behind her faded as soon as she passed over it. They could only go forward, not back. Akin reached the other end of the Moon-Bridge and lept through the mist, landing easily amidst thick green ferns. Felina couldn't believe her eyes.

"Where _are _we?"

The others quickly followed suit. Bahati was the last to jump through, and the portal swirled, then closed behind her. The cats, wolf, and dragon were all breathing heavily. They had been running for three hours in the void of the Deep Umbra. And they had made it just in time. They could already see clearly in the morning light. The sun would come up over the horizon in only a matter of minutes. Once the sun rose, the Moon-Bridge would have melted away beneath them. The air was filled with the songs of tropical birds and the humming of insects. Chance and Felina slid down off of the jaguar's backs, and the brothers then returned to their felis forms.

After somewhat catching her breath, Nakela re-took her homid form again. Felina looked around in awe at the beautiful rainforest. Chance smiled. He had grown quite fond of the place, despite the heat and humidity.

"This is Sarita's Den Relm. Believe it or not, we're actually in Megakat City Park."

"There isn't any tropical jungle in the middle of the park!"

"Not in the physical world, no. We're still in the Spirit World."

"Huh?"

"Heh. Come on, Lieutenant."

The group began walking through the thick jungle. Only Felina had no idea where they were headed. They had come out on the eastern edge of the Den Relm, and it was about a mile and a half to the massive home-tree. Eventually they came to the very heart of the rainforest mini-relm. Both Chance and Nakela noted that the place had changed somewhat. Instead of one giant tree, there were now five! Four slightly smaller trees stood around the original one in four exact corners, NW, NE, SW, and SE. The other four had the same rounded structure to the branches, forming natural dens, with stairs formed right out of the living wood that wound up the trunks. Longer, flat-topped branches stretched between each den in natural bridges.

Chance and Nakela were quite surprised at the change in the Den Relm over the past two weeks, but nothing could have prepared them for what they then saw up in the center tree, standing on the edge of the rim of branches looking down on them. The sleek and powerful chatro Balam stood with head held high, her coarse coat shinning bright gold in the morning sun. From her shoulders grew a pair of large, powerful feathered wings. They were deep red at the upper tips, turning to a fiery orange-yellow throughout most of the upper portions, then to brilliant green on the flight feathers, fading down to blue, and finally indigo at the tips of the primary's.

Nakela gasped and put her hands over her open mouth. She felt her eyes moisten with the still unshed tears, and one finally broke loose and rolled down the right side of her face. It simply wasn't possible!

Chance likewise was in shock as he looked up at the imposing creature. His heart skipped several beats and his breath caught in his throat. He looked up at it's eyes, and starred into the endless depths of deep blue, like the ocean itself.

"Sarita..."


	37. Chapter 37

"Sarita..."

He couldn't believe it. He had _seen _her die. There was no possible way she could have lived through all of that! But they were still technically in the Spirit World.

The Golden Hellcat spread her massive wings and glided down from the tree. When she landed, she folded them again and looked at the group before her. Her two sons ran up to her and stood at her sides. Her daughter walked up more slowly, and the two felines rubbed their heads in greeting to each other.

Felina looked on in surprise and awe at the powerful winged feline.

"That's Sarita...? I thought you said she was dead?"

Nakela still couldn't speak. Chance looked on with a mix of hope and sadness, speaking softly.

"She was. I saw her die. We both did. She's... she has to be a ghost..."

The chatro jaguar looked up at the pair of kats and the Mokole, a smile on her broad muzzle.

__

I'm no ghost, my love. I have returned.

A shiver ran through the tabby as he felt her presence in his mind. Nakela finally lowered her hands to speak, though her voice cracked from being so choked with emotion.

"How...? How is this possible? Nothing could have survived that! Not even _you_?"

As they watched, Sarita's form shifted. She stood up onto her hind legs, and her form shrank down, her wings shrinking to remain proportionate to her body. She now stood on her sokto form, looking like a well-built, imposing she-kat with ancient Mayan clothing and jewelry, her tattoos clearly visible beneath the thin fur. Chance and Nak could both see that there were new tattoos, a line of glyphs down the inside of her left arm, and another line of them that wrapped around her right thigh.

The proud warrior then walked forward toward the kats and human. As she approached, Nakela suddenly ran forward, and wrapped her arms around the Bastet. Sarita smiled and held her friend and lover close for several long moments as Nakela cried, the first time she had allowed herself to do so since Sar's death. When Nakela finally loosened her grip, both women looked up at Chance, and Nakela took a step back with a gentle smile, wiping the tears from her face with the back of her hand. Sar took several more steps forward, stopping only a few feet from the tabby.

"Sarita, I... how...?

She smiled gently, her voice soft and soothing.

"It's called the 'Rite of Nine Lives'. My Jamak, Citlacoatl, taught it to me. It's very rare, and very dangerous. When I first performed the Rite, I didn't care what the consequences would be, so long as it would aid me in my quest for vengeance against Mason. But... I had no idea of the suffering it would force me to endure. For the first five days, I wished I had _stayed _dead! The pain..."

She looked down sadly, a tear in her left eye.

Chance placed a gently hand under her chin and lifted her head up so he could look back into her deep blue eyes.

"But you're back. And we _will _have vengeance."

She smiled gently, then suddenly threw her arms around him, burying her face in his shoulder. Chance held her tightly, fighting back his own tears.

Felina was the only one who didn't actually know the Balam, but she knew of her from Chance and Nakela. She knew that her friend had fallen in love with the warrior, and she knew that Nakela, and obviously the rest of the shifters, had great respect for her.

Sarita finally loosed her grip on the tabby and pulled back a bit, looking him in the eyes.

"I'm sorry, for everything. None of this should have ever happened..."

"Sar, I don't care. The only thing that matters now is making things right again!"

He then leaned forward, and kissed her gently. The Garou and two male Balam jerked their heads up, ears pricked in surprise. Nakela gave a soft, almost inaudible laugh. Only Bahati didn't react. But even though she couldn't see, she still _knew_.

****

.

Nakela was used to eating whatever she could, but Chance and Felina were both _very _grateful to be eating real food finally. The jaguars did closely resemble kats in their sokto form, and with Tommy having been born a human and spending his first seven years living in a city, he took the first opportunity to acquire some 'civilized' food.

The entire 'pride', for Sarita explained that a Bastet Pride could be made up of close friends and family, not just werecats, sat high up in the branches of the central home-tree. Felina knew it would take a bit of getting used to, but Chance and Nakela were both in much better spirits now. The she-kat was glad to see that her friend was more like his old self again.

Sarita remained in her sokto form, leaning against the trunk of the tree, with Chance and the homid Nakela sitting to either side of her. The younger of Sar's sons, Tommy, sat against the back wall in his massive crinos form, which he seemed to prefer. Sarah had re-taken her own homid form, a sixteen year old girl with fair skin, shoulder-length red hair, and green eyes, and sat against the wall a few feet from Tommy. The other two Balam remained in their felis forms, and Felina leaned against the side of the larger male, Akin. Despite his size and power, something about him was also very calming, and she rather didn't want to be too close to the younger brother with his multitude of dangerous weapons. Bahati lay stretched out near the center of the group, her ears twitching to catch ever tiny sound. Everyone but Sarita was enjoying a breakfast of donuts and ham & cheese rolls. The Enforcer decided she really didn't want to know how Tommy had obtained them. When Felina asked why Sarita wasn't eating, the were-jaguar explained that she was unable to digest anything other than raw meat. At length, the discussion began on what would have to happen next.

"Our biggest advantage now is that Mason is certain I am dead. We must be sure that _no-one _learns otherwise until the moment we strike and I finally reveal myself."

Nakela took a sip of her coffee, then looked curiously at her friend.

"Sarita, I have to know. Exactly how _did _you come back? I mean, Chance and I both _saw _you die!"

Chance and Felina both looked at the were-jaguar on that one. They both wanted to know the answer to that as well. Sarita sighed and looked down, her eyes unfocusing. When she finally spoke, her voice was soft and full of pain.

"Believe me, as I had already said, for a while I had actually wished that I had _stayed _dead! There is a reason why some should not come back. We are not meant to still be alive with no _skin_."

The kat's both starred in open-mouthed silence. Nakela gasped from the realization.

"Oh great Gaia! You mean... she actually..."

"Yes. She completely skinned me. Every bit of it was gone. And my claws, fangs, and jaw-bones as well. You cannot _possibly _imagine the pain I was in!"

Felina couldn't believe that someone would possible do that to another person. She still saw these creatures as people, even if they could take the form of animals.

"She _skinned _you? WHY?"

Sarita looked up, meeting the she-kat's confused gaze.

"For a trophy. She takes the hides of felis and metis killi that she kills, and mounts them. I was lucky though. She's been known to take the other bones as well,

particularly the skulls."

Chance felt an anger and hatred begin to burn anew inside him, but he was still shocked at it all.

"Hold it. If she took your hide, then that means..."

"Yes. Somewhere, most likely her lair, is _my _old hide, stuffed and mounted. Along with Sawgrass, I'm sure."

Chance shivered involuntarily at the thought. He couldn't even begin to think of something so horrible. And he swore, he _would _get his revenge on that bitch of a vampire, one way or another.

In the back, Tommy laughed slightly and everyone turned to look at him as he began to take apart and check his gun. Sarita pinned her ears.

"Okay, _who _let Tommy play with a bazooka?"

There was a hint of stifled laughter, and Akin & Bahati exchanged glances. Tommy gave a loud, exaggerated sigh.

"It's an Uzi, mom."

"Do you _really _think I give a damn? And don't you _dare _let me catch you shooting that thing at your brother and sister!"

"But the bullets arn't silver!"

"_I... don't... care_...!"

Nakela placed a hand over her mouth to stifle the laughter. Chance and Felina glanced at each other curiously. Chance decided it may be best to stay out of it. Felina however sat up and looked over at the crinos.

"Exactly how old _are _you, Tommy?"

He shrugged and he worked to put he gun back together in working order with practiced speed and skill.

"Seventeen."

"_Seventeen_? And you're using automatic weapons and explosives?"

Chance's jaw dropped. Now he knew why Sarita didn't want her son handling the gun.

"Uh, Tommy? Don't you think you're a bit _young _for those kind of weapons?"

"No!"

Nakela was still trying not to laugh, as was Sarah. Sarita sighed, shaking her head.

"Killi tend to take their first shifts upon becoming teenagers. Puberty, if you will. And, unfortunately, that means having to grow up fast. Including learning to fight. _However_, that _does _include using a certain amount of constraint and maturity when using dangerous weapons!"

The crinos put his ears back flat, and he sighed again.

"Yes mom..."

****

.

The day had been spent mostly resting and planning. They now knew what they had to do. With the dawn, they would begin putting their plan into action. But the dawn would wait. Night had come again. Only Sarita, Chance, and Nakela now remained in the central tree. The others had gone into the other tree-dens for the night.

Felina was truly grateful to be able to sleep in a bed finally, even if it was up in a tree and formed out of the branches. Still, the pillows and blankets, not to mention the privacy since the four smaller tree dens were completely enclosed with cloths hanging over the doorways and window, was extremely welcome for the she-kat. The only other thing she really missed was a shower. Tommy and Akin shared another tree-den, with Bahati and Sarah each having their own as well.

In the central tree, Sarita sat on the edge of the platform, one leg pulled up against her chest, with her chin resting on her knee. The other leg dangling loosely off the edge of the branches. Nakela sat to her left, and Chance to her right. Nak leaned in and rested her head affectionately against the sokto's shoulder. Sarita smiled and put her arm around the bronze-skinned woman, kissing her gently on the forehead.

Chance glanced over at the two. Back in the pyramid, when they both believed the jaguar was dead, Nakela had finally told him the truth about them. He thought back on the were-dragon's words.

__

"Sarita and I have been alone for several long years, with only each other for companionship. After the murder of her pride, and Bahati's father, she had an emptiness in her heart that began to turn her cold. I suppose, she needed something to help fill that emptiness. And that something became me. I loved her, and always will. But I can also tell you this, though we both were lovers, we also both desired male mates. Especially Sarita."

"She firmly denied it, even to herself, no matter how many times Sawgrass and I teased her about it. But I know she was attracted to you from the beginning. It took time, but eventually her heart opened to you. I know she came to care deeply for you Chance, and the final day, she told me the truth of it. She was beginning to love you, and had wanted you as her mate."

Nakela's words repeated in Chance's mind as he looked at the two females beside him. He was finally beginning to understand them. To understand the way they think. They were ruled, not by logic, but by instincts... and by emotions. With a gentle smile, he leaned closer, and put his arm around both Sarita, and Nakela. If the two females were lovers, he would respect that. Especially since he now knew, that Sarita really did love him as well.

Nakela was eventually the first to finally get up, and headed toward the back of the den. The large bed was in the far back, the thirty-foot wide tree trunk hiding it from view of the opposite open wall. After a few more minutes, Sarita gave Chance a light kiss, then stood up and followed Nakela. He watched her until she disappeared behind the tree trunk.

'What the Hell...'

Sarita might _literally _have nine lives, but no-one knew what could end up happening once they began to retake the city from the vampire and her minions. Sarita was perhaps the most powerful warrior of all of them, but Angelida had succeeded in killing in her once already. Any one of them could die within the coming day. Might as well live now...

The two females were already curled up together, their clothing laying on the floor just outside the wooden bowl of a bed. Chance shook his head, then went ahead and stripped down to his boxers, crawling into the bed beside Sar and running his hand gently down her shoulder and arm. She smiled and rolled over to face him, then kissed him passionately. Chance never expected to be able to be with two females at once, and when he eventually passed out, he was more exhausted than they were.


	38. Chapter 38

Sarita stood in sokto form at the edge of the platform of living branches. A gentle wind blew her dark auburn hair across her face, and the light skirt ruffled around her tail and legs. Her deep blue eyes looked out beyond the sea of green to the purple sky above, slowly lightening in color at the sun began it's rise. The Rite of Nine Lives is exceedingly rare, and very powerful. And yet, it came at a terrible cost. Though her body had regenerated itself, she knew she was not fully whole. Nor ever would be again. Now that it was done, and she knew what the consequences were, she truly regretted her decision. All things die in time. To return once your time is over, is unnatural. She could feel her connection to the powers of the Earth Mother and to Seline both diminished. Physically, she was still as strong as ever. Spiritually, she was less than she was. She wished, truly, that it would never happen again. But she knew it would. She had performed the Rite, and succeeded. Now she was cursed for it.

Behind her, at the other side of the den, Chance and Nakela were still asleep. She had awoken early before the dawn. The nightmares still haunted her. She re-lived that terrible night over and over each time she closed her eyes. The battle against the Fallen Bagheera and the vampire. Every single wound, every single claw mark, every singe bite... she felt it all in her dream as if her body were suffering it all over again. But it was nothing. Nothing compared to suddenly waking up, surrounded by fire, no flesh to protect the exposed muscle and bone that burned black in the flames. No eyes to see, no ears to hear with, no feet to walk on, no jaws to scream out with. Such a torment she could never have imagined. But she had performed the Rite. And now, she had to live with it's consequences.

"I take it you still cannot sleep?"

Sarita looked over at the gentle voice. Silent as a shadow, she had never heard her daughter's approach. In her felis form, Bahati walked lightly across the path of interwoven tree branches that connected the tree-dens together. Her whiskers twitched, and she knew every step beneath her paws without ever needing to see them. She could hear and smell her mother so keenly that she even knew what form the warrior-priestess wore as she stood lost in her thoughts. Sarita gave a faint smile.

"You have all the stealth of your father."

"And the hearts of my mother."

Sarita had to smile. She may have been sired by a Khan, but there was no doubt she was born of the Balam. The Two-Hearts.

"Are you prepared for what we must do?"

"Are you, mother?"

The Balam looked down sadly, her eyes unfocusing. Her daughter approached and stood at her side. The white tiguar remained silent, until her mother was ready to speak again.

"I wish we still had Sawgrass with us. It would have made this so much easier. We are of Seline, not Helios. But we are also of Day, Night, _and _Twilight. Hopefully, allied with both of his children, the Golden One will aid our cause. But..."

"But you fear of what he will say. About Sawgrass..."

"He was only a kit... A child. And he was _my _responsibility."

"You were not his Kuasha."

"No, but even so, he was still my responsibility. And now he is gone."

"So were you. But he served Helios, and Raven, as well as could have been expected for one so young."

Sarita closed her eyes. Bahati could sense the sadness in her. The doubt.

"Mother, do not so down yourself. You a powerful warrior, and faithful to Citlacoatl, Gaia, and Seline. You gained the Feathered Serpent King's favor above so many others of purer blood."

"The Favor that was also the Curse."

"The Curse that may also be the Salvation. Above so may odds, you have lived throughout far more than merely nine lives."

"Yes, I've lived. And so many others have died."

"Stop blaming yourself for that. The Claws of Seline was a formidable Taklah. But the enemy was powerful, and knew just where to strike. Even if others had known the yava, it still wouldn't have made them as dangerous as that one. The Shadow One killed one of His children, and threatened so many others. The Golden One will at least listen to our plea."

"If there is time, we should try and speak to Seline herself as well."

"I agree upon that. And upon our return, there is one more thing we shall need to do."

Sarita looked curiously down at her daughter.

"And what is that?"

"A Taghairm."

"The full moon has just past. It will be almost four more weeks."

"That is simply tradition. You _know _that. This is something that _must _be done."

"Yes, but... the others..."

"Will join us."

"What?"

"The Mokole and Bastet have always been close, and we share many of the same homid Kinfolk. Our ancestors' blood has intermingled before. And Sarah has left the Backwater pack. The cub _chose _to travel, alone, into the heart of the Amazon. She _chose _to seek us out for aid to locate, and rescue, you, Nakela, and Sawgrass. And the kats... Whether you choose to admit it or not, you know the truth. Though only half of us are Bastet, we are all Hamaal."

Sarita sighed, a soft smile on her lips. Her daughter was still very young, yet she was also very wise. Moreso than she herself would ever be.

****

.

The group of eight stood together in the clearing in front of the massive tree in the heart of the Den Relm. Though not everyone agreed on it, the decision had finally been made. Sarita and Bahati prepared for their journey into the Deep Umbra to seek out and speak to Helios himself, to seek his aid against the vampire and her servants. Black feathers, shed from Sawgrass when he shared their home, were braided into the hair of the two female werecats, and then dedicated to them so that they would remain regardless of what form they took. The others would leave the Den Relm each night to begin the secret war, one servant at a time, returning with each dawn as they awaited the return of the two powerful priestesses.

It had only been a single day and night that Chance and Nakela had known of the Hellcat's return from the grave, and now she had to leave them again. Chance didn't like it, but he knew they would need help. And only they could find it.

"How long will you be gone?"

"I don't know. This is something I never believed I would ever be doing."

Bahati, also in her sokto form, stood beside her mother. Her voice, as always, was calm and soothing, with an air of confidence that made it impossible to doubt her words.

"At best, only a matter of days. I can say no more than that, other than we shall hurry as best we can."

Sarita then looked to her eldest.

"Akin, you are a Guardian. I leave you in charge of the Pride. Keep everyone safe until our return."

The large male jaguar nodded his head.

"I shall. Be safe mother. Sister."

Sarita then walked over to her two sons, and hugged them both.

"I am proud to see that you both have grown into strong warriors. You do great honor to your tribe, and to all of The Folk."

Stepping away from them again, she then turned to the others. Nakela threw her arms around her lover, and Sarita held her close for a few moments.

"I promise I'll return, my friend. Our souls are joined always, and not even death can tear our spirits apart."

As Nakela then stepped back, Sar looked to her mate with a gentle smile. Chance put his arms gently around her waist and held her close to him, kissing her softly.

"You _better _come back. Don't make me have to go into the Spirit World looking for you..."

She gave a very soft laugh.

"I promise..."

He smiled, then let her go. She walked back over to her daughter, who had already taken her felis form. Sarita nodded at the final two 'members' of the Pride, Felina and Sarah. She then took her own felis form. The shoulders of the two large cats seemed to shimmer, and each grew a pair of feathered wings. Sarita's were rainbow colored, fiery orange the primary color, while Bahati's were white with silver markings. The pair of felines then turned, and their bodies shimmered as they passed deeper through the Gauntlet, and into the Umbra.

Once they entered the Penumbra, mother and daughter both spread their wings wide and took to the air. They flew high and fast, pushing deeper into the Relm of Spirits. Umbral quests were dangerous under normal circumstances, but Sarita had rarely ventured into the Spirit World at all. Unlike her daughter, her only way in and out was through her own Den Relm. Should anything ever happen to her spiritual home, she would be trapped. But it was something she couldn't concern herself with now. She trusted her pride, her family, to keep it safe. The vampire's army was building, and she knew they would need the help that only a Celestine could offer to stop them once and for all in this world. She only hoped that Helios, the Sun, would listen to their plea and give them the aid they desperately needed.


	39. Chapter 39

Five days passed since the female werecats had left on their quest. The others could only pray that they would succeed, and return safely home. The first three nights they had managed to locate a total of four ghouls. None of the blood-bound kats would reveal their Mistress' lair. It went against everything Felina and Chance believed, but the ghouls were all killed in the end but the claws of the shifters. They had once been ordinary kats, until the vampire corrupted them with her blood. Chance thought about his former partner, and wondered if Jake would have to suffer the same fate.

The bodies were torn apart, and Felina was stunned at how vicious the four were-beasts could be. She had lived with Nakela for two and a half weeks, and spent several days in the company of the others. Yet when they fought, the ghouls being fierce and deadly in their own right, the shape-changers proved that they indeed had very real animalistic sides. Yet they always made sure the bodies would be found, and recognized. They wanted to send a message to the vampire. And the message was received, as they learned on the fourth night.

It was late morning when Sarita and Bahati finally returned from the Deep Umbra. Both were in their powerful crinos forms, and both still with their wings. They had traveled long and were tired, but they knew they were not yet done. Walking through the trees, they soon came back upon the five connected trees. Spreading their wings, both werecats flew up to the open-sided central den. Nakela jumped in surprise, then quickly ran over and hugged the golden-furred crinos.

"You're back! Were you successful?"

"Yes. We need to assemble the pride."

Within only five minutes, all eight had gathered in the central den, though some were less awake than others. Sarita had re-taken her sokto form, and Bahati shifted down to homid. Three bundles of wrapped black cloth lay on the floor, as did a small blue pouch. Sarita picked up the longest of the bundles and carefully unwrapped it. Three simple wooden arrows with sharpened points, not even any arrowheads, were revealed. Sarita explained.

"They may not look like much, but they are formidable. Fleshbiters. A War spirit has been bound into each one. They can pierce through any metal as if it were paper. Including Mason's kevlar armor. And being wood, a shot directly to her heard will stop her! It won't kill her, but it will rend her into a near-death the leeches call 'torpor'."

She then unwrapped the second bundle, and revealed an ornately carved dagger formed from the tooth of some giant beast.

Nakela looked at the strange blade.

"A Fang Dagger?"

Sar nodded.

"Yes. Once the fang is thrust into an opponent, and activated, it will continue to bite deeper into the wound, causing continued damage until removed."

As she unwrapped the final item, a bright glow filled the den. Everyone had to wince and shield their eyes from the blinding light. All except for blind Bahati, who gently picked up the shard. It was shaped like a dagger, but appeared to be made out of pure light. The white cat spoke softly.

"This is the whole reason for our quest. Helios grants it to his Corax, and once we told him of Sawgrass, he became angered and gave a piece of himself to us for use against the vampire. It radiates pure sunlight and can illuminate even the darkest night. It's strange that the light fills a cube, not radiates in a sphere as one would expect, but Helios is a bit of a strange one. Vampires are most vulnerable to sunlight, and Angelida is certainly no exception. Any within ten feet of the shard will be as if they were standing beneath a noon-day sun."

She covered the shard again, and the glow stopped. Akin blinked, letting his eyes re-adjust, then looked at his sister and mother.

"That's very good, because we now have a serious problem. Angelida has seriously stepped up her game."

Sarita flicked her ears and looked curiously at her son, as well as noticing the more sullen expressions of the others.

"How so?"

Chance was the one who answered.

"Because she's no longer the only blood-sucker in this city."

"Oh no..."

****

.

For the rest of the day, the eight who fought against the dark forces that had taken control of Megakat city remained in their tree-dens, resting. The two Bastet priestesses were exausted from their quest, and the others had spent their nights fighting against the vampire's secret army. Sarita lay asleep between her female lover and her male mate. The nightmares still haunted her, but they had not been as strong in the Umbra. The contents of the pouch she did not yet reveal, and would not until the Taghairm that night. She truly hoped that once the powerful vampire had been destroyed, the nightmares would finally end. That Mason had began Embracing others was a bad sign, but the fledglings would not be nearly as dangerous as their female Sire.

When evening approached, Sarita fed alone, then she and her sons acquired food for the others. Once the sun began to set, they assembled for the sacred gathering. Most Taghairms often took place during the full moon, and was generally the traditional way for wandering cats to exchange stories and renown. This time would mark the true need for the gathering. The pride was preparing for a deadly battle in what had become a vicious underground war.

As the others finished eating, Sarita shifted up to her crinos form. Bahati and Akin remained in felis, Nakela and Sarah in homid. Tommy, as usual, preferred his own crinos form. Off to the side, just far enough from the living walls of the den that it would not catch fire to the tree, was a brazier of eerie blue flame. Sarita had prepared for the gathering by warding the Den Relm. It was now sealed, and would remain so until dawn. Nothing, not even spirits, could travel in or out without great difficulty, and not without her instantly knowing it.

Once the sun had set and the sky grew dark, the power of the werecats' magic began to be felt as Sarita began the rituals that opened the Taghairm. The other three Bastet were calm, quite used to such things, and the Mokole knew at least what to expect. The one Garou felt very out of place among the Bastet, which in their own world would have slew her on site for even coming close to the ritual gathering. Chance and Felina really didn't even know what to expect. They had learned that these otherworldly shape-shifters are very connected, both magically and spiritually, to the earth and heavens that they come from.

The golden-furred Priestess stood before the massive tree-trunk in the center. She closed her eyes, and a strong energy could be felt in the den, sending chills through the gathered and causing good-bumps and the hair/fur to raise on the napes of their necks. The glyphs carved into the living wood began to glow with a soft blue light. The blue fire of the brazier danced as if it were a living entity.

"In times past, the ritual gathering of the Taghairm was meant for all of the Folk to gather and exchange tales and secrets that we have uncovered as the Eyes of Seline. It was a bonding of magiks, showing the connection of blood and spirit that we all share. We have come, whether it by choice or by fate, to a world which is not our own. To a Gaia on which we were not born. Under a Seline that did not create us. And we also come together now with others that are not of the Folk. Yet they are still welcome among as, as part of the Pride."

Everyone listened intently as she told the tales of the beginning of the worlds. The creation of the Celestines from the void, and of how Nala, the First Mother Of All Things, went mad in her loneliness until Ahu, the vast eternal night of before creation, made for her two bothers, Rahjah and Cahlash, to be her mates. From them was born the Celestines: the planets, moons, stars, and sun. She told of how the brothers, in their jelousy of each other, tormented their first born, Gaia, until Nala unleashed her fury on them both. Nala's tears were shed unto Gaia, and from the tears sprang the miracle of life. She told of how life was created in a constant struggle of birth and death, change and loss, upon the Earth Mother known as Gaia. Sarita then told of how Cahlash, jelous of his brother, created the evil spirits known as Asura, and how the essence of his anger and hate became the dark ones: raksasha, vampires, demons and dakat.

After the long tail, everyone continued to listen in silence, and some in wonder, at the stories of the cats. She then told of how benevolent Seline, to combat the evil of her father, created creatures that were a mix of beasts, men, and spirits: the Changing Breeds. These creatures she bestowed upon her sister Gaia, as gifts to aid her. That they were different from the other creatures, better. And yet, also always apart from them, and always rare.

"Each of the Killi was shaped of light, shadow, and the elements, welding spirit, human and animal forms. The Mokole and Ghural were born of Earth, that they might be solid and strong. the Nuwisha and Garou came of Fire, to temper or consume the weak. The Anansi spider-folk share Air with the Corax, for both are as capricious as the winds. We are the children of Water, and share that liquid grace with our cousins, the shark-folk. The foxes, it is said, have little bits of all four parts, and yet none in great abundance. All Killi responded to a need, a cry from the Earth that was answered by the Moon."

The crinos jaguar looked about her, an amused grin at the expressions of the non-Bastet.

"Does it seem strange that the cats of our world should carry the spirit of the waters? Then consider that water is purity, mystery and grace. Water runs silent, yet crushes with the power of an elephant. It's depths hold secrets that only the brave can find. Water is quick, quiet, always in motion. Like a cat, it carries enigmas in it's flowing depths. It may seem clear and shallow, but it never is. Never."

Bahati then took her own crinos form and told of how the first Bastet tribe, the Khara, were created from the blood of a human mage, and a saber-tooth cat as they lay dying after slaying the demon dragon that had destroyed so many in vengeful bloodshed. The blood of the two mixed with Seline's tears to give birth to the first kittens of the Folk. Yet the dragon's blood mixed with them as well, and they have always been cursed with a darkness. The Khara hunted and killed their kin, both human and cat, until Seline cursed them that her tears would burn in their veins, thus the moon-metal, silver, would always burn them. She cast them to the winds. They died out, but not before mingling their blood with other humans and cats, creating the new tribes..."

Sarita once again took over the tales, and her own was the Caliah of the Balam itself. The Garou, Mokole, and kats all listened with interested at the tale of how two tribes of jaguars once lived upon the forests of the moon, whom they called Ix Chel, and were her favored children. Of how the jaguars killed a race of giants, and claimed the jungles of Gaia for their own, then their mother, Ix Chel, took the form of a black jaguar, swallowed the sun to create of time of pure night, so that her children, frightened of the coming of the Asura, could flee into her embrace. The Balam who stayed when the chance was over, began to slowly die of their anguish.

Her tale then told of how they were once two tribes, the black-furred Hovitl Qua who were shamans that wandered alone, and the winged Olioiuqui who walked the streets of the ancient human cities as Gods. She told of how, during the second War of Rage, at which point Sarah noticeably shrank back from the tale, the two tribes joined together into one to drive away the invaders and save what was left of their land. The continue to fight to this day, and they are loosing...

The tales continued deep into the night, the glyphs on the tree glowing with each one as that particular Caliah was told, and the energy continued to swirl about the Den Relm, filling everyone present with it's mystical power. When the dawn came, the blue fire had burned away, and all eight, shifters and kats, slept soundly together as one Pride, prepared for the great challenge that now lay ahead. It was still never revealed what lay hidden in Sarita's small pouch she and her daughter had brought back from Seline.


	40. Chapter 40

Jake stood beside the front of the sedan. The hood was up and he was leaned over, working on the engine. In a way, he missed not having Chance around to help with things. But then, he really didn't care anymore. Ange was the only thing that really mattered to him now, and Chance had tried to kill her, as had Sarita. He figured that maybe Ange was right. Maybe Chance, Nak, and Felina really did die up in those mountains. It had been almost three weeks now, and he had shot Chance at point blank range in the shoulder. Nak couldn't heal like Sarita could. The bullet came so close to the tabby's heart, that he couldn't possibly have survived this long without medical treatment. Oh well. At least the nightmares had stopped.

His senses were much keener now, but even he never heard the silent footsteps behind him, until it was too late. Jake froze, and his ears twitched backward. He could swear he felt a presence. Then he heard the voice.

"Still acting as if everything is normal, huh 'buddy'?"

The ginger kat's eyes went wide, and he spun around, just in time to see the fist aimed right at his face. Jake was thrown backward into the car from the impact to his jaw. Before he could recover, the second fist hit him hard in the sternum, and he doubled over in pain. An elbow hit him next in the back between the shoulder blades, dropping the lean kat to the ground.

"Chance? How did you...?"

"What? Survive? You should know me better than that by now, Jake!"

He kicked the smaller kat, but by now the initial shock had worn off. Jake twisted, and grabbed Chance's leg just before impact. He twisted his body, flipping onto his back and swinging his legs around, kicking the tabby in the lower back with one leg while tripping him with the other. Chance fell straight down, and hit the ground hard, his right knee slamming painfully into the concrete floor.

Jake quickly got up and pressed his knee tightly against Chance's throat, cutting off the air. Chance growled and gripped his former friend's leg.

"I'm not as wounded as you think, bud!"

He brought his own left knee back up, hitting Jake hard in the back and throwing the ginger kat forward over him. Jake tumbled and landed back on his feet, standing back up before the bigger tabby could. But before the smaller kat could attack again, something strong grabbed his arms, pinning them behind his back. Chance stood up slowly and smiled darkly at the other kat.

"You really didn't think I was going to come alone, did you?"

Jake looked over his shoulder, and up, at the massive crinos were-jaguar that held him firmly in it's grip.

"Oh crud!"

He struggled hard, but Akin's hands were as strong as steel, and he couldn't break the jaguar's hold. Chance walked over, and delivered a powerful blow to his gut. Jake doubled over again, coughing. Another strong hit to his face, and the smaller kat looked up hatefully at the tabby as a small stream of blood began to trickle from his now broken nose.

"You'll pay for this, you know. You can't stop her! Nothing can!"

"Oh yes we can. And we will! By the way, Jake. There's something I owe you. Remember what you did to me three weeks ago?"

That's when Jake realized that Chance was wearing his glovatrix. The hate in his eyes slowly turned to fear as the big tabby took a step back, and pointed the gloved weapon at him. Chance held the end of the glovatrix up against Jake's left shoulder.

"You shot me, Jake. You tried to kill me. _Would _have killed me, where it not for Nakela. I _owe _you..."

"Go ahead then! Do it! Go ahead and kill someone who can't fight back, if it serves your ego!"

"Nah... that would be too easy."

He brought his hand back again, balled into a fist. With all his strength, Chance brought his fist forward one more time, slamming the smaller kat hard against the side of his face, and knocking him unconscious.

****

.

"Isn't there any way to reverse it?"

"I've heard there is, but it can take a long time."

"How long?"

"One to three years."

"Too long."

"Agreed."

"Nothing else?"

"There's only one other way. Kill the Dominate."

"That's not even considered an 'option'. That's a must. One way or another, everything ends tonight."

"Right. Which means, hopefully, tomorrow it will all be over."

"Will he remember?"

"_Everything_..."

Jake's ears twitched lightly, but he didn't dare move. He kept his breathing shallow, his eyes closed. He didn't want them to know he was awake. He recognized the three voices. Chance, Felina, and Nakela. So they had all survived. But where we they? Where was he? It was hot, so his first guess was, naturally, the desert. But he quickly pushed that aside. There's no way they could have gotten that far. And anyway, it wasn't dry. It was humid. _Very _humid. And he could hear the sounds of birds and insects everywhere. He could smell the many tropical plants. There was only one possibility then. The Den Relm. Which means they somehow made it back into the city, without being found. But how could they get _into _the Den Relm?

He could only think of one possibility. The other jaguars. Ange and her shifters didn't know who they were, or where they came from. But they were here, and they had been causing his Mistress a _lot _of problems during the past few weeks. He thought he would be safe. There was no way they could possibly get past the security system protecting the salvage yard and hidden hanger. Not without help. He never thought Chance would dare to return. Heck, he didn't think the tabby even survived! The ginger kat had obviously underestimated his former partner. And now Chance was working _with _the jaguars. That certainly didn't bode well.

Jake's thoughts then came to a halt as he realized the voices had stopped. Had they left? No, he could tell that they were still there. He then heard Chance's voice.

"Alright, Jake. We know you're awake now. Enough games."

The slim kat slowly opened his eyes, glaring hatefully at the three that he had once considered his friends. They stood a few feet away, watching him with cold expressions. Now that the charade was over, Jake looked up as his restraints. His wrists were chained, as where his ankles. They were secure, but not tight enough to cause injury unless he struggled. The chains were wrapped around a very tall, thick tree with smooth bark that wouldn't cut into his back. He pulled lightly with his arms, testing the chains. They were strong, and even with the unnatural strength caused by the vampire blood in his system, he had no hope of breaking them.

He was also sore. Chance was definitely healed, and once again had full use of his left arm. The tabby had obviously held nothing back when they fought back in the garage. Jake's jaw still hurt, and he was sure he had a few bruises from the other hits as well. But those he could easily heal. Later though. He was now fully adept at being able to heal himself, but he'd wait until later for the time being. He looked back at the two kats and the human with narrowed eyes.

"You still think you can kill Angelida? Think again."

The female Enforcer took a step forward, her voice a mix of sorrow and anger.

"It's over, Jake. We _are _going to stop her. And help you."

"_Help _me? Ha! Who said I need any help? Or _want _it!"

Only then did he suddenly realize she had called him by his real name. Chance stood beside her. Not T-Bone. Chance. Which could only mean... she knew! Chance had obviously revealed who they really were to the she-kat. Well, it really didn't matter much anyway. The SWAT Kats were done. With Ange in control, they were no longer needed anyway.

Felina sighed and shook her head. She'd seen and fought several ghouls over the past week, but she still couldn't believe the SWAT Kat that she had known for years could be like this. That he could turn so cruel and hateful under the vampire's influence. Without another word, she simply turned and walked away. Jake smirked.

"Heh. What's _her _problem?"

Chance turned and glared at the slim kat.

"That's enough! This is going to end, Jake. One way or another. That bitch vampire is going to die. Now tell us where the Hell she's hiding!"

"Or what?"

Nakela stepped forward quickly and grabbed Chance's wrist. His hand was balled into a tight fist and he was trembling with fury.

"Calm down, Chance. You're not the one to handle this. Come on."

Nakela put a gentle arm around the tabby's broad shoulders. They turned and walked off in the same direction Felina had gone. Jake laughed.

"Yeah, sure. Can't handle something, you just 'walk away'. Is that what you're going to do when Ange kills and skins the rest of those spotted furballs like she did Sarita?"

Chance froze in mid-step, his fur bristling from anger. Nakela glared at Jake, then turned quickly back to the tabby.

"Don't listen to him. Let _her _handle this. Remember, he's under the vampire's influence. This will all be over soon."

Chance relaxed a bit, but he was still very tense. He spoke through gritted teeth.

"Yeah, you're right."

They then continued to walk off, disappearing into the sea of green foliage.

Jake waited, listening, until he was sure they were really gone. Ange was _not _going to like this. He looked back up at the chains, and began to pull. Ange's vitae had made him very strong, but with all his strength, he still couldn't budge the chains, or loosen his wrists. These shifters obviously knew what they were doing. Which was strange. He knew they had been killing the other ghouls savagely. Since when did they actually take prisoners?

"Heh. They _really _think they can _cure _me? Right. She's gonna tear them all apart!"

"Don't be so sure about that, SWAT Kat."

"Huh? Who the Hell's there?"

Jake looked around for the source of the female voice. It sounded familiar, but was a bit deep and rough. Hatred was laced through the voice like venom.

"Look up."

Jake lifted his head, and saw a tall figure standing about thirty feet above him on a tree branch. The form was silhouetted against the sunlight that filtered down through the canopy, but he could tell it was a crinos werecat. And it had _wings_! A massive pair of feathered wings protruded from the werecat's shoulders.

"What the heck _are _you?"

The crinos smiled.

"I am Death..."

She spread her wings slightly and stepped off the branch. The wings caught the air, slowing the Balam's descent just slightly, and she landed lightly on her feet as if it were no more than a two-foot drop. The Balam's spotted coat shimmered with a golden hue, and she wore the clothing of a Mayan warrior, brightly colored bird feathers interwoven in her auburn hair. Beneath the golden pelt he could see a multitude of various tattoos, dark blue against the skin and slightly altering the color of the fur to show through it.

Jake looked cooly over the huge form that now stood only a few yards away. Though obviously female, she was powerfully muscled, with sharp claws and a disconcerting presence that made him mentally shrink back, though he forced himself not to show it. He looked over the tattoos. Strange glyphs for the most part. But then one caught his attention. An anaconda that wrapped around down the right arm, it's head on the back of her right hand. His gaze moving slowly up, the fear began to show him the kat's eyes as he met the Balam's dark gaze. The eyes were deep blue, like the ocean, with a tattoo of a crescent moon over the left one. Jake felt his heart began to beat harder and faster, his breathing quickening as the adrenaline charged through his body, fuled by fear at the realization of who this warrior cat was!

"Impossible... You... you're DEAD?"

Sarita narrowed her eyes.

"Yes. I'm sure your _Mistress _has my pelt mounted within her lair. Do you have _any _idea what it's like to be skinned? To have no flesh, no face, no feet, no eyes...? Would you like to _find out_?"

Jake was breathing so fast that his body couldn't even absorb the oxygen properly. He felt light-headed. Terror coursed through him. The Balam warrior lifted her right hand, and held out the index finger, the sharp claw pointed at Jake's shoulder.

"My death, is on your hands, Jake. My _blood_, is on _your _hands! You are _responsible _for my death. And _you _nearly were the death of one who called you 'brother'. You shot him. Tried to kill him."

She brought her hand forward, and the claw touched Jake's shoulder, just a little above his pounding heart.

"The others wanted to simply kill you. But, when one dies, they tend to have a _serious _score to settle, should they ever return! And some _do _return! Many call them ghosts, we call them 'Ancestor Spirits'."

She pressed in the razor-sharp claw. Jake screamed out in pain as the were-jaguar's claw dug into his flesh. She twisted her finger, causing the hooked claw to rip through his flesh, and tear into the muscle beneath. Blood flowed from around the claw, staining the golden fur of her hand, as well as Jake's own fur and clothing with dark crimson.

"You _will _tell me where she is..."


	41. Chapter 41

Since her return, Sarita's mood had been very dark indeed after what she had suffered through. To her, ghouls were nothing more than a vampire's pawns, and should be put down without any remorse. That she had previously considered Jake a friend, and she knew how much her mate had cared for the kat who was like a brother to him for many years, it made her decision that much harder.

Jake groaned softly. The werecat had finally left him alone. The wounds she had left were not very visible on his skin, as she obviously knew what she was doing. But his left arm and shoulder were now both useless. She was strong, but in her crinos form, her grip was like steel. She had actually crushed the bones of his shoulder & upper arm with one hand. That was intentional, he knew, because of what he had done to Chance. But she also knew how to cause pain without much obvious damage. He didn't know how long the torture lasted, but he was sure the others could hear his screams throughout the entire Den Relm.

The slim kat would have rather died that betray his Mistress. The problem, was that the Hellcat apparently had no plans to kill him. He hung limply from the chains, his arm and shoulder burning with pain, and a single, bloody tear ran down the side of his face.

"Ange... please forgive me..."

He had used much of the vitae in his system to resist most of what the Hellcat had done, but he believe that was part of her plan as well. He was weak, and hurting. The pain slowly consumed him, until darkness took it's place. It was exactly what the dragon who lurked in the shadows of the trees had been waiting for...

Many years of memories flooded the sleeping kat's dreams. He saw himself and Chance, and everything they had gone through together. Since becoming the SWAT Kats, they had strived to be a force of good to help protect Megakat City and it's citizens. They had faced many dangers and hardships, and only their friendship and trust in each other had seen them through the difficult years. Through the many deadly trials they had faced. The memories returned, unbidden, into his mind. Everything else faded away as he and his best friend, his 'brother', lived and worked together, protecting everything Jake was now helping to destroy, _together_.

But then the dream shifted. He saw Angelida. Not as the beautiful young black-furred she-kat she now portrayed herself to be. But as the human woman with long fangs and glowing red eyes she really was. He saw her for the _monster _she really was. And it terrified him. He saw himself in the dream, falling into Ange's trap. He saw her order Stephen and Darian to beat him. He saw her grab him up by his throat, and sink the vicious fangs deep into the flesh of his neck. In the dream, there was no Kiss. No ecstasy. There was only pain and terror. He felt the vampire rip his neck open, and drain his blood. Weak, unable to fight back, she then bit open her wrist, and forced her blood into his mouth. He couldn't fight her. The blood tasted vile. He tried to resist. Tried to pull away from the vampire and spit the blood out. But he couldn't.

He watched, from the dream, as the vampire took control of him. Forced him to turn against his friends. Forced him to lead them into a trap. Forced him to shoot his best friend. To try and _kill _him! He could clearly see the anguish on Chance's face as he shot him. And he saw Nakela, not as a dragon, but as a young woman. He had began to care for the human woman before the vampire took control of him. And he could see the pain in her eyes.

He then saw what the vampire had done afterward. He watched helplessly as many innocent kats were tortured and killed. Not only for food. She could feed without any need to kill. Most of the time, she didn't even need to feed. She enjoyed causing pain. Enjoyed torturing the innocents. And he was forced to help! He saw Darian, in his crinos form, raping young she-kats nearly to death. He saw Stephen Devours-The-Unborn live up to his name, as he tore open the belly of a pregnant she-kat, ripping the fetus from her as she screamed out in agony. She bled to death, but not before being forced to watch the Garou devour her unborn kitten. Her husband was also forced to watch, as Chigger held him down, laughing in that eerie, hyena-like voice of his. Before tearing his throat out.

Jake slowly opened his eyes. The fur of his face was wet, and stained a deep red from the vampire's vitae that was blended into his own system. He spoke aloud to himself, his voice nothing more than a whisper.

"What have I done...?"

****

.

Angelida paced the stone floor of her Haven. Her ears were pinned flat and her tail lashed angrily. She had remained in the guise of the black-furred kat, which she was growing quite fond of.

"Nine ghouls in six days. And they took my SWAT Kat too!"

Dark Kat stood off to the side, two of his creeplings chittering at his feet. He leaned lightly on his cane as he watched the fuming vampire.

"You should have killed him yourself when you had the chance. He's too much of a liability."

"He's _mine!_ I do with my pets as I please! Don't forget that!"

The massive kat narrowed his pupiless eyes. Nearby, a blond young vampire watched her sire.

"How did they get him? The SWAT Kat was the best of your ghouls, wasn't he? What happened to the body?"

"There is no body! That's the problem! He just disappeared!"

Dark Kat glared at the fledgling, then back to Ange.

"How do you know he simply didn't betray you?"

"_Because he can't_! He's fully blood-bonded, and will do _anything _I say! I _know _those damned jaguars took him!"

The blond thought for a moment, coming to the only obvious conclusion.

"What about the other SWAT Kat? And the dragon and female Enforcer? Could they be back?"

Ange stopped her pacing, glaring a hole in the opposite wall.

"If they have, then that _would _explain why they took him alive, if indeed they did."

"Why didn't you Embrace him?"

She spun around, barring her vicious fangs at the fledgling, her eyes glowing bright red.

"I was going to! That's why I sent Stephen to get him! But he found _nothing!_ Nothing but the scent of one of those damned jaguars!"

****

.

The sun was sinking low over the horizon. T-Bone was showing Felina how to use the extra glovatrix he had retrieved from the hangar. One of the Fleshbiter arrows he would keep with him, to be used via the specially-designed crossbow that he had also retrieved. Akin and Sarita would each have one of the other two arrows, using bows made out of branches from a specific tree that grew in the Den Relm.

The burly SWAT Kat's mood was quite sedate. As much as it angered him everything that Jake/Razor had done, he also knew that Nakela was right. It was the vampire's blood-bond that was making him act that way, and not his own free will. T-Bone had a quick temper, but he wasn't cruel. He didn't know what Sarita had done to his former friend, but he could hear Jake's screams of pain echoing throughout the Den Relm. They all could. The Bastet and Garou didn't seem to even notice, but it greatly bothered him, Felina, and Nakela. Since her return, the tabby had noticed a darkness in his lover. She was crueler. More hateful. More vicious. She was right in that he could never comprehend the emense pain she had suffered through, but he could clearly see that the experience had changed her. She was _vengeful_.

The two kats looked up as the albino tiguar returned to the tree-den.

"It is done. He is still unconscious, but safe. Even if they do find and breach the Den Relm while we are gone, they will not find him."

They both breathed a sigh of relief. No-one knew what would happen to Jake once the vampire was killed and the blood-bond broken. Sarita however feared that, once Angelida realized the entire pride had left the Den Relm, she would send her own Garou, or perhaps Banes, to attack it. If Jake had been left there alone, chained and seriously wounded, he would have been killed.

Felina checked the two guns secured at her hips. One was her own weapon, the other was a laser gun that she had also borrowed from the SWAT Kat. The white werecat had glyphs pained on her body in a natural red dye, and red feathers interwoven into her silver hair. In her right hand she held a spear of black wood, a foot-long spearhead at the end of it, and carved with glyphs all the way up the shaft. It's appearance was impressive, but it was still a primitive weapon. Even so, it was imbued with a powerful spirit, making the weapon much more dangerous than it looked. The albino closed her eyes, and listened. After a moment, she spoke again.

"We are ready. It is time."

The three went down the staircase that spiraled around the trunk of the tree to meet with the others who were already gathering below. The two jaguar brothers were both currently in crinos. Both had glyphs painted on their bodies like their sister, but in blue rather than red so they would show up better against the cats' golden-brown pelts. Both were also armed for battle, Tommy with his gun and explosives, and Akin with his bow, poison-dipped arrows, and bladed weapon similar in shape to an ornate machete.

Sarah Two-Tree was in her full crinos, standing nearly as tall as the pair of jaguars. She had streaks of blue painted across her body in reminisce of her Celtic ancestors. Nakela stood still in human form, wearing dark jeans, tall black combat boots, a dark blue half-shirt and her denim vest. She had a large combat knife sheathed on her belt at her left hip.

Sarita was perhaps the most formidable-looking of the group. Her crinos form was about the same height as the young werewolf, and her dark auburn hair was tied back in a single braid interwoven with bird feathers. Even in crinos, she wore the red & gold cloth and bone armor of the ancient Mayan warriors from who she descended. Around her neck was a leather choker that dangled beads, both bone and gemstone, carved in the form of claws and skulls. On both hands were black leather open-backed gloves with 'claws' made of silver and honed to razor-sharpness, that fit like sheaths over her natural claws. Strapped to her right thigh was her large machete, and the small blue pouch hung at her right hip, suspended around her waist by a silver-colored cord. Unlike her three children, she did not have glyphs painted on her body. Hers were actual tattoos, the dark blue ink having dyed the fur as well as the skin. The warrior-priestess looked around her with dark eyes as the pride gathered.

"The sun will be down very soon. It is time. We have all been preparing for this, and we all know that not all of us may survive. Though we are of several breeds, tribes, and races, we are all still a Pride. To some of us, this city is home. To others, it is a foreign world. But no matter, we have all come together to defend it. And this shall be the deciding battle. Bahati shall lead us through the Umbra to the leech's lair. It is quite possible we will face Asura, evil spirits, along the way. When we arrive, we shall enter the lair and leave the Umbra. Always stay in pairs. Bastet are loners, but in this, being alone could mean death. Felina and Akin, Tommy and Two-Tree, T-Bone and Nakela, and Bahati and myself. No matter what the opposition, it is the vampire, Angelida Mason, who is our target. She is the 'Head of the Snake'. Cut off the head, and the body dies. Our greatest advantage is that she believes I am dead."

This is where T-Bone saw the problem.

"What will happen once you're spotted before we find her?"

"Hopefully that will not happen. Because of this..."

She reached into the pouch and pulled out a small glass vial. Within the vial were several ounces of a dark, almost black liquid. Before anyone could ask what it was, she unstopped the vial and poured a tiny amount of the liquid down her throat. As she re-sealed the vial and returned it to her pouch, her body began to darken and fade. By the time she closed the pouch, she had disappeared, her body turning into a living shadow. Everyone starred in shock, save Bahati. The tiguar explained.

"It is Nightshade. Distilled darkness. Mother shall remain as a living shadow until the effect wears off, in about an hour. That should give us just enough time to breach the vampire's Haven and locate Mason. Now come. It is time..."


	42. Chapter 42

They traveled quickly through the gray mists of the Umbra. Nakela had retaken her powerful Archid form, while the rest of the changers had shifted to their war-animal forms. Felina and T-Bone again had to ride on the backs of the jaguar brothers due to the speed in which they needed to travel. T-Bone really wished he could have taken the cyclotron, but this was the only way to 'sneak' in. As they approached, they could easily see the old warehouse in the Penumbra. The shifters were all on full alert. They could sense the presence of the Asura, also known as Banes, or Wyrm-Spirits. But none of them could actually see anything.

As they approached, everyone moved slowly on foot, all the shifters re-taking their crinos forms except Nakela, who remained in homid. Two-Tree moved up to the door and checked it carefully.

"Locked, even here. Hang on a second."

She placed her clawed hand against the door. After a few seconds, she then opened it easily, and slowly. Backing up, she let Akin go first. The older jaguar brother was the largest of all the crinos werebeasts, save the dragon. The strong Balam entered cautiously, looking around. Behind him was the dark shadow that was Sarita.

"I don't see or scent any Asura. Bahati, what do you see through the Gauntlet?"

The albino stepped forward, and 'looked' through into the physical relm.

"It appears empty. I suggest we proceed through."

Still wary of possible danger, everyone most inside the building and gathered around the albino. They gray mists shifted as she lead the pride through the Gauntlet. But something seemed to be going wrong as it everyone felt as if they were trying to pass through a wall of spider webs. Felina and T-Bone both became seriously worried about the situation, but the shifters all remained calm. Bahati closed her eyes tightly, concentrating.

"The Gauntlet's thick here. But we're pushing through."

After several tense minutes, they finally passed out of the spirit world and back into the physical one. Two-Tree, Akin, and Tommy immediately began scenting and 'sensing' for danger, while Felina, T-Bone, and Nakela also looked around, their weapons ready. The stench of the Unmaker was strong, but there were no obvious enemies nearby. Bahati 'looked' around for a moment, then spoke softly.

"Alright, here is where we split up. T-Bone, Nakela and I will search here for a way down. The rest of you search up. Be careful everyone. May Seline watch over us.

.

As a highly trained Enforcer, Felina is quite used to situations like this. The only difference, is that she wasn't after criminals. Spirits, were-beasts, and vampires were far more dangerous, and she was thankful for the backup of the powerful were-jaguar. Akin was forced to walk with a slight stoop due to the lower height of the corridor they were moving down. He held his blade at the ready, the bow and quiver of arrows slung across his back. They hadn't encountered any enemies, yet, and it had been at least ten minutes. But they were now out of hearing of the rest of the pride, and that's what the Bane was waiting for.

The horrid-looking creature materialized out of the Umbra a few yards ahead of them. Felina froze, fear coursing through her at the sight of the unnatural beast. Akin could feel the fear as well, but he knew it was a trick of the Asura, and he fought it. The jaguar had a strong will, and was able to push aside the Asura's initial attack. He stepped forward, putting himself in between the she-kat and the corruption spirit.

"Felina, snap out of it! It's a trick!"

The Bane hissed loudly through it's powerful mandibles. It was tall, it's back barely touching the ceiling above it. The body was insect-like with a thick carapace, and it had six long, pointed legs, with two additional pair in the front with spiked ends that looked like blades. The head was like a giant insect, and the serrated mandibles appeared to be strong enough to crush anything they gripped.

Akin roared out in defiance of the Asura, and the creature lunged forward, slashing at him with it's four bladed fore-legs. The were-jaguar blocked the attacks with his blade, but one leg managed to hit him across his left thigh. Felina finally managed to fight off the unnatural fear, and backed up a bit, aiming her gun at the creature. Akin saw her out of the corner of his eye.

"Don't fire! It's armor's too thick!"

"Crud! Then what?"

"We've got to draw it out into the open!"

She hated having to back down from _anything_, but the gashes that were already beginning to turn the jaguars pelt red in several placed convinced her that he was right. Akin continued to fight off the Bane, now on full defensive, as they backed quickly out of the hallway into the large room near the stairs they had come up from. As soon as they passed out into the room, Akin immediately withdrew, putting plenty of space in between them and the Bane. The spirit however took the opportunity and lunged quickly forward. They both jumped aside as it landed, slashing with it's sharp forelegs. One 'claw' hooked into Felina's boot and jerked her quickly back toward it, another raising up in preparation to slash. She rolled over quickly and fired her gun. The bullet hit the tough carapace and ricocheted harmless off it.

"Felina!"

Akin lunged in and body-slammed the Bane. It was far too strong for even him to knock it over, and it spun quickly around, slashing a deep wound in the jaguar's left shoulder. He roared out in pain as flesh and bone both were cleaved through about three inches deep. Felina scrambled quickly away from the Bane's reach, then aimed the glovatrix that T-Bone had given her. She fired the mini-tarpedos, covering the Bane's head in thick black tar. Akin raked his claws over the Bane's steel-like carapace, sharpening them considerably. He then slashed at the appendage that still cut into his shoulder, holding him. The arm was severed completely, spewing black blood over the Balam. Staggering back, he pulled hard on the bladed arm, pulling it out of his bone and flesh, and tossing it aside.

The creature screamed, a loud ear-splitting sound that caused both Akin and Felina to drop their weapons and press their hands to their sensitive ears from the pain of it. It then lunged again as Akin. He managed to move out of the way just in time, rolling under the tall insect-like creature.

"Felina! Can you distract it?"

"How's this?"

She pulls out the laser gun and fires several times at the Bane. It spins to face her, hissing. The thing lunged at her with incredible speed. Felina tries to jump out of the way, but mis-judged how fast the Bane really was and was stabbed in the leg by one of it's three remaining fore-legs. She yelled out in pain, but still turned and faced the beast defiantly, firing the laser gun again at it's head.

The laser fire didn't seem to have any real effect other than simply pissing it off, but it was merely the distraction. Akin lept up and landed on the Bane's back, ripping his sharp claws into the hinged portion of the carapace between the thorax and abdomen. Black blood splattered everywhere, including over the legs and chest of the jaguar. the beast screamed out again, but Akin had his ears fully pinned, able to ignore the painful sound just long enough to sever the Bane's head.

Akin lept to the ground as the Bane fell, and slumped down onto his knees. Felina ran over to check on the crinos werecat, but he looked up fiercely and snarled at her.

"Stay back! Asura are spirits of corruption. Even their blood can cause one to fall to the power of the Unmaker."

He held his good hand over the deep wound in his shoulder. Thick blood poured from the massive gash and mixed with the Bane's black blood, staining his coat.

"Can't you heal it?"

"No. Not covered in the Asura's blood."

"We need to find a way to clean it off then!"

He shook his head sadly, looking down.

"There is no way to do that here. And only Bahati and mother had the ability to create water with their magic. There's nothing more that can be done but continue on, and hope the others are faring better."

.

Due to the small spaces of the abandoned warehouse, Nakela was forced to stay in her homid form. It didn't make her helpless though, and she held the large hunting knife ready. She and T-Bone had continued to search the main floor when Bahati found the staircase leading down. They knew that Sarita had gone with her daughter, even though no-one could even tell she was there if they didn't know what to look for. T-Bone suddenly stopped, listening.

"Nak, wait."

"Huh? What is it?"

"I heard something. Or someone."

They then quickly but cautiously made their way forward again toward where the tabby had heard the sound. A sudden voice made them both stop, ducking down behind some old shipping crates.

"Let me go you spotted freak!"

T-Bone gasped. He knew that voice all too well.

'It's Callie!'

Nakela motioned to him that she was circling around to the left. He did the same to the right. They soon could both clearly see Chigger in his crinos form holding the she-kat tightly around her neck. T-Bone glanced over to where Nakela was hidden, and she nodded that she was ready. He stood up quickly, his glovatrix aimed at the small werewolf.

"Let her go, Chigger!"

The spotted Dancer gave one of his eerie, echoing laughs.

"I don't think so, SWAT Kat! You won't dare fire while I've got your little friend here!"

He laughed again, then rang his long tongue up the side of Callie's neck and face. She tried to pull away, a look of pure disgust on her face. T-Bone's hand trembled from anger, but he knew he couldn't risk shooting. He didn't have to. A small throwing dagger flashed through the air and dug deep into the Garou's right shoulder. He yelled out in pain and let the kat go as Nakela stepped out of hiding, holding her hunting knife. Callie ran quickly over to T-Bone, as he fired the mini-net-launcher past her at the werewolf. The net spread wide and covered the crinos as he snarled and thrashed trying to break free. Nakela cautiously moved forward, glaring at the small wolf.

Callie threw her arms around the big tabby, sobbing lightly.

"Oh thank you, T-Bone! I don't know what that _thing _was going to do with me!"

T-Bone smiled and put one arm protectively around her.

"Um, no problem Miss Briggs. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine now. Now can we please get out of here?"

Nakela saw the sudden smirk on the werewolf's muzzle and turned around just in time to see why.

"T-Bone! Look out!"

Her warning wasn't fast enough as the blond she-kat's eyes took on a faint red glow and she sank her fangs deep into the tabby's neck. T-Bone yelled out in pain and surprise. He tried to push Callie away, but the young vampire was too strong, and the Kiss was beginning to take effect. Nakela was too far away to help pull the vampire off, but her reflexes were extremely quick. With her free hand she pulled another throwing knife and let it fly, hitting the fledgling square in the back. Callie released her fangs and screamed out in pain, turning to glare at the human with fierce red eyes.

T-Bone staggered back, slightly dazed, with a hand over his bleeding neck.

"Callie? What are you...?"

She spun around to face him again, pulling the knife from her back. He couldn't believe it!

"No! Not you!"

"Sorry T-Bone, but immortality was far too tempting to pass up. I was the one who was really having to deal with all the problems of this city, with that stupid Manx spending his days playing golf and making the tax-payers pay for everything his own idiocy! But the way Ange's gonna be running things, things are going to start looking up quite quickly for me!"

"No! This can't be you! It has to be some kind of trick!"

"Heh. Sorry to disappoint you. You know, it's really too bad. The Mistress was afraid you'd be too hard to control with as strong-willed as you are. Razor more easily bended to her power. It was so easy to lure him down into the subway for the Mistress to catch him."

She smiled darkly at the shocked expression on his masked face.

"Yes, I was working for Ange even then. I wasn't a vampire then, of course. Merely another of her ghouls. But _I'm _the one who led you fools into that trap so she could ghoul Razor. And _I'm _the one who told the Metallikats where and when to hit that bank, to lure you two out so she could pounce again! You fools are getting way too predictable. Oh well. It's not as if the SWAT Kats are needed anymore anyway. By the way, what _did _you do with Razor?"

"He's somewhere where neither you nor your Mistress will find him, leech!"

Callie turned at the venomous female voice behind her. Nakela now stood less than two yards away, glaring hatefully at the blond kat. Callie looked down at Nak's large knife, then back up to meet her dark-eyed gaze. She smiled cooly.

"You really think you can stop us? Think again, lizard."

Nakela yells out in pain as the werewolf's claws rip into her back. Chigger then grabs her by the throat with one hand, his other bloody hand gripping her wrist, squeezing tightly in an attempt to make her drop the knife. He holds onto the knife, but can't break the Dancer's grip. Callie walks up to the struggling homid with a sly smile.

"Ange told me that shifter blood was quite potent. She also said that your kind hold ancient memories of centuries past in your souls. We can drink memories in the blood. I wonder... if that works for yours too."

Nakela's eyes went wide, but in her homid form she just wasn't strong enough to get away from the other two supernaturals. Callie gently pushed Nak's raven hair aside, exposing her neck. The vampire could clearly hear the dragon-changer's heart pounding in her chest, pumping the blood hard and fast through her veins, including the one in the neck. She leaned in, her fangs ready to pierce the woman's throat.

"Hey Callie!"

"What now?"

She turned around, glaring at the tabby, but looked in shock as he fired the arrow from his crossbow. Despite not having a true arrowhead, it priced right through her flesh without effort, the wooden shaft piercing straight through her heart. Her eyes went wide as she fell forward, landing unmoving onto the floor. T-bone immediately dropped the crossbow and fired two mini-turboblades from the glovatrix at Chigger's head. He wasn't very tall, and managed to duck the blades easily, but the SWAT Kat never intended to actually hit him. Merely distract him. And it worked.

Nakela was able to pull her wrist free of Chigger's grip, and she stabbed back hard, digging the serrated end of the knife's sharp end deep into the werewolf's sternum. Her let go of her and stumbled back in pain. She spun around and sliced again, cutting a deep gash in his chest. Chigger hissed, then turned and fled. T-Bone and Nak ran quickly after him.

Even in crinos, he ran on all fours, leaving a thick trail of blood. His pursuers ran quickly, but they weren't quite fast enough and he managed to put a small bit of distance between him and them. Nak soon saw his target.

"We've got to stop him before he reaches that mirror!"

T-Bone fired two more mini-turboblades, but they went over the werewolf's head. They did manage to hit the top of the mirror, shattering it. But only the top half was shattered. There was still enough left of the bottom half for the Dancer to dive into his own reflection, passing quickly through the Gauntlet into the Umbra. The both came to a stop, breathing hard, in front of the mirror. T-Bone balled up his fist and smashed the rest of the mirror hard, shattering it into a hundred small pieces, a few of which left small shallow cuts on his hand.

"Bastard! Can't we go after him?"

Nakela shook her head, a cold hateful look in her own brown eyes.

"No. Garou travel through by going through reflections. We Mokole do it through water. I can't follow him."


	43. Chapter 43

Tommy jerked his head up, ears pricked at the distant sound above them.

"That sounded like Akin yelling!"

Sarah's ears were also pricked as she listened. The red-furred werewolf held her head up, nose testing the air.

"I was from a flew floors above us. But I hope your brother and that kat can take care of themselves, because we've got our own problems."

"Such as?"

"Them!"

Sarah pointed ahead of them were two figures stood in the darkness, their eyes glowing red. Tommy glared and held his large gun in one hand.

"Vampires...Let's toast 'em!"

Tommy slung the gun over his shoulder, knowing the bullets wouldn't be nearly as effective against the undead blood-suckers as his own powerful claws. The two crinos shifters charged the leeches, but didn't notice the trap until it was too late. At the sound of the gunfire they both dove to the ground, but not before both had taken a few rounds of the silver bullets. Thankfully they were mainly just flesh wounds, nothing vital having been hit.

Tommy rolled and brought his own gun up quickly, firing a series of three-round bursts at the ghouls. The ghouls had sufficient cover to block even the powerful gun of the were-jaguar, but their own bullets managed to hit the shifters a few more times before they could get to cover. Sarah ducked into a nearby room, quickly pursued by the pair of vampires.

Already injured from the silver bullets, the young werewolf found herself at two against one with the undead creatures. They were only fledglings, but they still had the unnatural strength of their kind. And worse, they also carried weapons of silver! Not bullets, but hand-crafted daggers similar to thick-bladed hunting knives. Sarah lashed out at them with her claws and fangs, but for each light slash she made across the creatures, she received a slight slash of her own from their weapons. The moon-metal burned into her flesh, but she fought back the pain. She knew that if she gave any ground to the vampires, she would soon loose everything.

Sarah began to scramble backward, moving quickly to put her back to the wall. She would at least keep the pair of leeches in front of her, rather than allowing them to attack from both sides. The move proved effective, as in her massive crinos form she had a longer reach than they did, and they were unable to get close enough for any more attacks without her claws tearing into them.

One vampire made the foolish mistake of trying to lunge again with the silver knife. She was wounded, but she was still a Garou, and she took the opportunity. Throwing herself forward, she took the blade across the side of her face as her own jaws crunched down on the arm of the vampire. He screamed out in pain as she grabbed into him with her strong claws. Holding tight to her prey, she jerked her head back, ripping off the arm. The other vampire ran forward, stabbing into her side. The silver knife burned painfully and cut deeply into her flesh, but she felt the rage welling up inside her, and she called upon it.

Biting down again, she felt the vampire's head crushing in her jaws, and she twisted then jerked once more, ripping the vampire kat's head from his shoulders. She swung her head around, releasing her jaws, and sent the severed head flying across the room. The other vampire tried to run, but even injured she was able to move just quick enough to grab him with her claws. The vampire had left the knife stuck in Sarah's side, so he used the only weapon he had left. He bit down hard on the Garou's hand, digging his fangs deep into her flesh. She yelled out with a fierce howl, and slung her hand, throwing the vampire against the wall. Lunging forward again, the last thing the blood-sucker saw was her large red-furred form, claws covered in blood, slashing right at his face.

Tommy had about enough of the fire-fight which seemed to be getting no-where. He had found decent enough cover to protect him from the silver bullets, although the ones already in him burned profusely. He was too pumped up on adrenaline and rage right now to notice though, but he knew he would certainly be feeling them later. Calling upon the Gift his mother had taught him. He summoned forth an eerie, chilling mist that filled the entire room, as well as the adjoining rooms and corridors. The ghouls looked around, clearly unnerved by the strange fog, and their shots were much wider now as they could barely see in the dimness. Tommy however could see just fine, and he moved low, circling around for a better shot. The ghouls never saw the powerful jaguar as he fired again, the bullets tearing into the creatures, and killing all three before they even had a chance to turn and fire again in his direction.

"Yes! Smoked! Hey Sarah!"

He paused a second, listening.

"Two-Tree?"

.

Felina had managed to stifle the bleeding of by wrapping a shredded piece of old cloth tightly around her leg over the wound. Akin's injuries were worse. He was able to heal at least partially, so that the bleeding wasn't so bad, but the wound to his shoulder made the arm itself almost unusable. The two moved cautiously back toward the stairs, about to head back down again to re-join the others. Akin's ears suddenly pricked at a faint sound, too soft for Felina to notice.

"Get down!"

He shoved the she-kat to the floor just as a laser blast flew past them, blowing a small hole in the wall. Akin looked up and snarled at the pair of robotic kats. Felina glared.

"Mac and Molly Mange..."

The shorter Metallikat laughed as he aimed the laser gun attached to his arm at the Enforcer.

"That's right Lieutenant! And it's time for you and your shape-shifting boyfriend to say goodbye!"

"Oh you're _so _gonna pay for that!"

Felina rolled onto her side and fired her gun at the pair of robotic kats as Akin crouched low on all fours, then sprang forward with claws ready to rend them apart. Mac and Molly both jumped out of the way of the were-jaguar, who ended up slamming straight through the wall. He landed hard on his wounded shoulder and yelled out in pain. Molly returned fire to Felina, who managed to move quickly to a nearby support column. Not a good idea. Molly's strong laser sliced thorough the top of the column, then the bottom, causing it to topple down, pinning the she-kat beneath it.

Mac stepped through the hole in the wall, and fired at the large jaguar, opening in a large wound in his side, and exploding the floor beneath him. The floor gave way and Akin crashed through down to the next level of the building. Mac peered over the edge. Through the cloud of dust his infrared sensors could see the motionless body of the were-jaguar below.

"Well that was certainly too easy."

Felina groaned with pain as she tried desperately to push the heavy pile of steel and concrete off of her. When it fell, a heavy piece of the concrete had hit her hand, causing her to loose her grip on the laser gun as well as damaging the glovatrix. She couldn't reach the other gun that had been reholsterd at her hip due to the crushing weight of the collapsed column on her. Molly walked to stand a few feet from the she-kat, smiling down at her.

"Any last words, Enforcer?"

"Yeah. Go to Hell!"

"You first."

She held the laser gun attachment aimed right at Felina's head, but a yell from behind her caused the metallic she-kat to turn around suddenly.

"Wha... Mac!"

The shorter Metallikat was thrown back through the hole, crashing against another of the heavy support columns. Molly turned to look back at the hole in the wall, and saw the were-jaguar standing there. Somehow he had managed to fight back the pain of his severely wounded shoulder enough to hold his arm out straight, a large wooden bow in his grip. With his good arm, he pulled back on the string of the bow. The arrow was a simple wooden shaft, the end merely sharpened with no true arrowhead. The female robot laughed.

"Ha! You really think a simple piece of wood is gonna stop us! We're gonna tear you up like a scratching post, kid!"

"We'll see about that, bitch!"

He released the bowstring just as Molly's laser blast hit him hard in the chest, throwing him backward again. His aim was true though, and the arrow slammed straight into Mac, slicing deep through his thick metal body and piercing the CPU. He yelled out as his body short-circuited. He then fell to the floor as his systems all shut off.

"_MAC_!"

Her optic sensors glowing red with hate, Molly turned back to Felina and again aimed at her. Felina was desperately trying to at least get to her gun or at least get herself free from the heavy rubble. She glared up defiantly at Molly, despite the fact that she was probably about to die. Neither she-kat saw the huge blur until it was too late. Akin had shifted to his chatro form and enacted one of his Gifts. He jumped with amazing speed, covering the entire distance between him and Molly in a single long leap. His massive body slammed hard into the female Metallikat, throwing both of them forward. His powerful saber-like fangs ripped into her metallic body and his claws crushed her like a tin can. Molly screamed out as the massive feline literally ripped her to pieces.

Felina could only watch helplessly as the chatro tore the robotic she-kat to shreds. He then turned and looked back at her. Moving slowly, putting virtually no weight on the wounded left shoulder, Akin limped over to stand next to her. Putting his head down, he began to push with all his remaining strength, using his extreme weight as leverage to shove the debris off of her. As the steel and concrete began to give way, Felina fought to pull herself free. As soon as her feet cleared the pile, Akin backed off and the rest of the debris tumbled down in a cloud of dust. The powerful jaguar them slumped to the ground, shifting back to his breed form. The large reddish-gold jungle-cat lay on his side, breathing heavily. He was so covered in blood and dust that it was impossible to tell exactly what color his pelt really was.

"Aw crud, Akin. You could have killed yourself!"

He couldn't speak in felis form, and she didn't understand Khuear, so he just growled softly. The pain had finally caught up with him and he felt his rage burned away. He knew that there was no fight left in him, and was only glad the she-kat wasn't killed as well. Akin dedicated his life to protecting his bother and sister, his pride. This she-kat was considered a member of his mother's pride even though he'd only known her barely a week, but he still felt he had to protect her too. Now there was no more he could do, so he just closed his eyes.

"Akin? AKIN!"


	44. Chapter 44

Sarah's sharp fangs were clenched as she held back the yell of pain as Tommy pulled the silver knife from her side. Because the wounds were made of silver, neither of them could heal. The bullets inside both of them burned, but they knew there was nothing they could do until everything was over with. After helping his friend up, the young Balam ejected the magazine from his gun, slapping in a fresh one and pocketing the spent one for future re-loading. He really wished he could use his grenades, but a single explosion could cause the entire condemned building to collapse, killing all of them, except for the vampires!

The two then moved slowly back out of the room. Upon passing through the doorway, a sudden powerful burst of energy slammed into the large male crinos, sending him flying backward into the werewolf. They both crashed to the ground. Tommy looked up at the slightly singed fur of his chest.

"What the Hell was that?"

A laughter caught their attention and both carefully got back up, peering through the mists outside the room.

"Maybe you overgrown furrballs can handle vampires and their ilk, but you're no match for my electrical might!"

The two shifters snarled, then lept aside as another jolt of electricity hit the floor where they had been standing. Tommy jumped forward, slamming though the drywall back out into the larger room, snarling viciously at the tawny-furred kat. He quickly unslung his gun and took aim, only to have it jerked out of his hands!

"Ah ah. It's not nice to point those things at people!"

A blue-white bolt of electricity ran from Hard Drive's hand to the gun as he pulled it from the Balam's grip. He tossed the weapon, and it crashed through a window and down to the empty street below.

"Aw shit."

Tommy watched his weapon fly out the window, then turned back just in time to barely avoid another blast of electricity. By now though, Sarah had gotten back up to her feet and made a lunge toward the techno-crook. Hard Drive held out his hand, and another white-hot bolt of energy flew at the Garou, slamming hard into her. She screamed out in agony as the powerful blast of energy surged trough her body.

Tommy roared out and charged Hard Drive. The kat took a step back and re-directed his attack at the rampaging crinos, but was too late. Tommy body-slammed into him, slashing with his claws. A massive tear caused the surge suit to being to short circuit. The tawny kat yelled out as the electricity began to dance wildly over the damaged surge suit. He knew he had to get out of there fast. One more hit by the enraged were-cat could spell the end for him. He shot another strong blast at the jaguar, throwing him back and causing him to roar out loudly in pain and fury, while looking around for a possible escape route. As soon as he couldn't hold the energy anymore on the jaguar, he turned and ran for a nearby electrical outlet. Tommy shakily got back up, but had no chance of catching Hard Drive as he turned into pure electricity and dove into the outlet, escaping out the building's power system.

The surge had hit him hard, and he could barely stand. Leaning on the wall for support, he made his way carefully back over to Sarah. She was laying face-down on the floor in her breed form, homid. And she wasn't moving. She didn't even appear to be breathing.

.

Akis-Bahati's sensitive whiskers tremble slightly at even the very faintest traces of air motion. Her ears swivel, picking up even the most minute of sounds. Even though she cannot see, she still can tell exactly what's around her in the darkness. In truth, she can 'see' far better than anyone with sight could in the gloom beneath the warehouse. Reaching the bottom of the staircase, she steps forward, holding her spear in both hands. She pauses, her ears priced forward, at the soft, dark laugh.

"So, the blind metis has decided to come right down into the serpent's lair, has she? And alone? Foolish cub. That shall be your first, and last, mistake."

The voice is soft and does not cover the sound of nearby breathing. Bahati knows she faces at least two opponents. She sniffs lightly, the taint of the Unmaker strong in the air. Both of the others in the room are shifters, and both smell to be in their crinos forms.

"Stephen Devours-The-Unborn, and Darian ShadowClaw... Am I right?"

There was a pause, then she heard the same voice.

"You are quite astute, cub. I am Stephen, Shadow Lord Ahroun."

"Fallen Shadow Lord. You have turned your back from Gaia to consort with the corruption of Cahlash's Asura-spawn."

She heard a low, rumbling growl.

"Do not test me, cat. You do not even have the honor of seeing your own death coming to greet you!"

"Nor do you."

Stephen's ears went back at the were-cat's calm words. She showed no fear at all, despite the use of his Gift. He decided it was because she couldn't actually see his powerful presence.

"Who are you, cub?"

"I am Akis-Bahati, Illani Balam, Spiritual Leader of the Pride of the Shadowed Hearts. And daughter to the Golden Hellcat, Sarita de Sangre."

Stephen's jaw dropped. Darian as well looked at the white Bastet with stunned silence. The powerfully built crinos Garou then glared hatefully at the young cat.

"Impossible. Sarita is a metis. She cannot have children!"

"After defeating the Asura called Black-Flames-Of-Despair, a powerful spirit granted her the ability to have kits."

"And she had you? A blind, albino metis? You don't even look like a jaguar!"

"I am born of the Balam, but I am sired by a Khan. I am metis, of two tribes. And I am not so blind as you are, for I can see what your sight hides from you."

The massive crinos roared out in fury.

"Enough of this! Time to end you miserable existence, half-breed!"

"No, Stephen! Time to end yours!"

The black werewolf jerked his head up in confusion and alarm at the new voice. In front of him, a black shadow began to take shape. The darkness took form, and melted into shinning gold. The form lunged, and a dagger was thrust deep into the wolf's chest. He howled out in pain, staggering back as the fang dagger began to bite it's way into him. But more than the pain was the shock of the Balam that stood before him, her ocean-blue eyes burning with bloodlust.

"IMPOSSIBLE! You're _dead_?"

She snarls viciously.

"Yes, I was! Do you have _any _idea what it's like to come back, and have no skin, feet, or face? Well let me _show _you!"

Sarita slashed at the werewolf with her claws, the silver sheaths ripping deep gashes into the werewolf's thick hide. He snarled and lunged at her, slashing across her chest and face with his own claws. Her hide was very thick, and his attacks barely even left red lines against her golden fur. Yet each of her own attacks left burning wounds in him.

Stephen takes a few quick steps back from the vicious jaguar, and concentrates. His form seems to loom larger, broader, and his eyes take on an eerie glow. He concentrates on the aura of despair emitted from his powerful form. But it does no good. The Hellcat seems to take no notice of the Fallen's power, and presses her attack. Snarling, he then lunges forward, bringing his claws out and slashed hard at her as he jumps by. The leap succeeds in ripping several deep gashed in the side of Sarita's shoulder, but they do nothing to hinder her. She spins around quickly and drops, slashing low with her silver claws. As he lands, Stephen roars out in pain as the Hellcat rips the tendons of his back right leg. He collapses down to one knee.

"Stupid arrogant dog! Do you _really _think I would allow you to harm my pride? My lover? My mate? My _daughter_!"

She walked to stand over the snarling werewolf as he kneeled before her. She knew his arrogance, and knew that forcing him into a cowed position before her was the greatest insult to the Fallen Shadow Lord's pride. Stephen raked his claws against the stone ground, then shoved his body forward, slashing. Sarita jumped back, but not quick enough to avoid his razor-sharp claws. They cut across the front of her legs, drawing thin red lines of blood, but were not enough to cripple her as she had done to him.

Sarita jumped with incredible height and speed, landing easily behind the downed Garou. Before he could turn around, she dug her powerful claws into his shoulders, and gripped tightly. Stephen roars out in agony as the silver claw sheaths dug deep and curled under beneath his skin. Sarita then pulled back, and literally began to rip his skin off, exposing the powerful muscles beneath the black pelt. He tried to fight back the pain as he slashed with one claw behind him. Sarita easily avoided the maneuver. She then came forward again, and grabbed him by the thick black fur on the top of his head, jerking back hard. The werewolf was pulled onto the exposed flesh of his back, smearing the ground with his blood.

"You're time is over, Stephen! May your flesh feed the worms and carrion birds and your heart feed the Gods! Not even your vampire can save you know!"

Placing a clawed foot on the werewolf's chest, Sarita kneeled down and grabbed hold of the flesh over his left breast. She gripped tightly, Stephen screaming in pain, and pulled. The flesh and fur was ripped away, blood splattering as the millions of tiny capillaries were torn apart. She reached down again, and her claws dug deeper, catching on the thick rib bones. The muscled in her hands strained, and she pulled hard on the bone, snapping the ribs and tearing them away to expose the frantically beating heart.

Stephen's final screams drowned out all other sounds, echoing through the underground labyrinth and up into the warehouse above. Sarita reached into his chest, her right hand and glove stained a deep red with blood, and she gripped the powerful heart. With a hard jerk, she pulled back, ripping the organ from Stephen's chest. She backed up a few feet away from the mangled blood-soaked corpse. Holding her hand high, the blood dripping down her arms to splatter onto her shoulders, face, and chest, she called upon the four elements. Summoning the power of fire, and pushing her own fear of the element of destruction aside, the heart burst into flames in her hand. She held it for several seconds, then tosses it aside as the flames consumed the heart, charring it black and filling the chamber with it's stench. A nearby voice then caught her attention.

"I think it's time I made an exit from here. It's about time that arrogant dog got what he deserved, but I'll be damned if you think I'm going to let you do the same to me!"

Sarita turned around at the voice, glaring at the black-furred were-cat. There was a cold darkness in the depths of her eyes at she starred at Darian. Blood was beginning to pool on the ground at the panther's feet from a deep wound in his gut. Nearby, Bahati's spear lay in the ground, it's blade also covered in blood. Darian held one clawed hand around the white were-cat's throat. The razor-sharp claws of his other hand were pressed against the upper portion of the throat, just below her raised chin. Bahati held her eyes closed, even though she couldn't actually see what was happening.

A dark fire burned in Sarita's blue eyes as she slowly began to walk toward the panther. Darian took a few steps back, fighting back his fear of the powerful jaguar. Now he truly knew why she had earned the name of 'Hellcat'.

"Stay back, Sarita. Unless you want your daughter to suffer the same fate as Stephen."

"Let her go, Darian. You and I have unfinished business."

"Yes, and that business shall _remain _unfinished!"

Bahati opened her eyes, and calmly reached down with a hand. Ever so gently, she touched her hand to Darian's thigh. Before he even realized what she had done the poison of the tree-frog spirit she had summoned began to course through him. His grip faltered, and he stumbled, The albino casually stepped away from the Bageerah as he dropped to the ground, unable to move, fighting to simple remain breathing.

Sarita walked slowly up to him, looking down into the panther's fearful eyes.

"I warned you about harming my daughter..."

She placed a foot to the panther's chest, and shoved him to the ground. Sarita pressed her full weight onto the black-furred were-cat's chest and she kneeled down.

"Remember what you did to me, Darian? I remember it well. And I also know that I was not the only one. Did you know that Nakela can enter another's dreams? She entered Razor's. And she saw in his memories what you did. What you did to those innocent she-kats. What you did to _him_. I think it's time it all ends now."

Darian's eyes went wide. He had heard of Sarita's reputation. He had heard of how no male Garou or Bastet who knew of her would _dare _challenge her to a battle in her crinos form. But Bahati's touch had left him paralyzed. There was nothing he could now. Nothing, but watch on helplessly as the jaguar's silver claws traced a line down his chest, moving low to his groin. He closed his eyes, knowing what was coming. Sarita's claws closed down, her claws digging in deep. Darian screamed out in agony as she jerked her hand back hard. The pain was so intense that he began to black out as his testicles were ripped off in a spray of blood, then tosses to the side like trash. Sarita backed up, and the panther rolled over onto his side, hands over his bloody groin in pure agony.

"Time's up, ShadowClaw. Prepare to meet Cahlash face to face."

She drew the ornate blade from it's sheath at her hip, and held it down to Darian's face. He could barely move, and he looked up at her with tears in his golden eyes. There was nothing in those deep blue eyes that looked back down at him. No remorse, no pity, not even pleasure in her revenge. He saw nothing but emptiness. And it was the last thing he saw as her blade cut deep across his throat.


	45. Chapter 45

The stench of blood was thick in the musty air of the underground room. Bahati had retrieved her spear as she and her blood-soaked mother prepared to move on, continuing their search for the vampire. The sound of footsteps moving quickly down the stairs caught both their attention. Bahati held her spear ready, and Sarita her blade. Bahati relaxed only moments before her mother could actually see who it was, since she could sense their presence without needing to see them.

T-Bone and Nakela both came to a halt at the base of the stairs, looking at the gory scene before them. The SWAT Kat actually felt quite sick at his stomach, and even the dragon, used to battle and blood-shed as she was, had obviously never witnessed anything as violent as this. Both the kat and human looked to their lover, standing to her full crinos height, her golden fur soaked a deep red from the blood of her enemies. They barely even recognized her. Both knew of her being a fierce warrior, and Nakela had even seen her in battle many times, but the creature who stood before them wasn't the Sarita they knew. She was a powerful, cold-hearted killer, her thirst for vengeance turning to a cruelty they never would have believed her capable of. She had crossed the line from warrior, to killer.

Despite the amount of blood in the room and on the warrioress, Bahati's pelt was still flawlessly white, with barely even a hint of splatter save for on her hands from when she stabbed Darian with her spear. The albino stood nearby, her expression calm, as always. It was quite obvious which werecat had done the vicious killing. Before either Nakela or T-Bone could recover enough to speak, Bahati moved toward them and spoke in her soft voice.

"I smell blood. What happened to you two?"

Nakela wrinkled her nose as she looked up at the young tiguar.

"Of course you smell blood! It's everywhere in this place! What happened _here?"_

T-Bone placed a hand on Nakela's shoulder, then looked to the albino, and to her blood-soaked mother.

"We ran into Chigger... and another vampire. It... it was Miss Briggs."

Sarita's ears pricked at the name. She had remembered both of the SWAT Kats mentioning the blond Deputy Mayors before. She had apparently been a close friend of theirs.

"_She_ is now a vampire?"

He nodded sadly.

"Yes. She tricked us. Made us think that Chigger had her as a captive. She was already a ghoul under Angelida's influence when... when she lured Razor into first trap. She's been working for the bitch the whole time!"

Bahati sighed and shook her head.

"I'm sorry. There is nothing that can be done for her now. Once the Sire is dead, her fledgling's blood-bond will be broken. But she will still be a vampire. There is nothing that can reverse that. Though, she may not necessarily be evil. I've heard that some were not, and even met one who wasn't."

"As have I."

T-Bone and Nakela both looked at Sarita with stunned expressions. She had always been so hateful of anything having to do with vampires and ghouls, and yet now she claims to have met a vampire that was _not _evil? Sarita could see the question in their faces, though they did not voice it.

"Yes. They have been tainted by the Unmaker, every one of them, though most never even know it. Some of the younger ones strive to hold on to their humanity, even by killing the monsters that made them. They all fall eventually, but they are not _all _evil."

It was small, but it was still a faint trace of hope that maybe Callie wouldn't become like Angelida. Maybe they wouldn't have to kill her afterall. T-Bone held on to that hope, but he was also very concerned. Because Callie had disappeared.

"Sar, she... somehow got away."

"Got away? How?"

Nakela, now calmed down a bit, answered the question.

"T-Bone had hit her in the heart with the Fleshbiter. It mobilized her. She appeared to be dead, so we went after Chigger. He escaped into the Umbra though, and I wasn't able to follow him. When we got back to where we had left the she-kat, she was gone! The arrow lay on the ground, but there was no sign of the vampire. No blood, no ash... nothing!"

Sarita nodded, considering.

"There wouldn't be ash unless she were consumed by fire or sunlight. She's too newly turned. Something pulled the arrow from her and revived her. She's not dead, else you would have found the body. But there is nothing for it now. She's only a fledgling, and a minimal threat. It's Mason we need to destroy."

Bahati spoke up again, noting that her original question was still unanswered.

"One of you is still wounded. T-Bone?"

"Yeah. Callie bit me. It's not bad though, thanks to Nakela. Already stopped bleeding."

She nodded. Sarita looked at him with a bit of concern, but she could see that he was obviously fine. Vampire's main weapons were their fangs, and she herself had been bitten numerous times.

"Alright. Let's go, then."

Turning, the blood-soaked Hellcat lead the way down the corridor. Bahati walked to the side of, and just behind, her mother. Though she could not see, it was Bahati who in fact lead them through the maze of tunnels. Somehow, the young metis seemed to know exactly where she was going. As they were about to round another corner, Akis-Bahati suddenly froze, holding her spear out to stop the others from going any further. Sarita looked curiously at her daughter, knowing that she sensed something. Bahati made a small motion with her free hand, similar to sign language. Sar nodded, then held her blade at the ready as she took the lead again. As they came around the final corner, they found themselves at the entrance of a large room. Standing at the far wall, in the guise of a black-furred she-kat and with a dark smile on her face, was Mason herself! She wore the black kevlar body armor, with her barretta and silver-edged machete were at her sides. In her hands was the assault rifle.

Sarita narrowed her ocean-blue eyes, snarling viciously at the vampire. She also noted that Mason was not alone. There were two other vampires, as well as four ghouls, standing at her sides. The mutated kat-snake, Dr. Viper, was also with her, along with several of his mutated rats, as well as various other plantimals. And standing in the shadows of the far corner of the room, was a tall figure that T-Bone instantly recognized.

"Dark Kat!"

The purple-furred villain gave a cruel smile.

"I see that your partner is not with you, SWAT Kat. I'm curious as to what happened to him. Did you actually let your new companions kill him because he had changed sides?"

Seething with anger, the tabby stepped forward, but was stopped as Bahati brought her spear out quickly in front of him. She knew it was a trap, and that the Fallen ones would do their best to taunt them all right out into it.

Dark Kat's comment had also struck both Nakela and Sarita, but they knew better than to listen. Jake was safe, and once Mason was dead, they would be able to finally cure him of the leech's influence. Ignoring the large purple kat, Sarita turned her attention back to Angelida.

"I see you still won't face me alone, blood-sucker. But your pets, Darian and Stephen, can't help you now. I've torn out Stephen's black heart and fed it to the Gods, just as I will soon do to yours!"

"You can try, Hellcat. But I doubt you will succeed. There are only four of you now. The other half of your 'pride' cannot help _you _either. And only two of you can even shift into crinos form to fight me with. Hell, one of you isn't even a supernatural! Do you _really _think you can stop me, when you are so out-numbered? Give it up now, Sarita. And maybe I'll kill you quickly this time. And this time, you'll _stay _dead!"

Sar narrowed her eyes hatefully. Somehow Angelida must have found out that she was still alive before she reached the vampire's Haven. But she had killed both Stephen and Darian, Ange's two fiercest warriors. The rest of these kats would be little trouble. She took two more steps, leaving the confines of the corridor and stepping out into the room itself. She didn't notice the vines until it was too late. Attached to the high ceiling was one of Viper's strangle-vines. Several thick tendrils wrapped around the Hellcat's arms, neck, and upper body. Before anyone else could react though, Bahati lunged forward, slicing at the vines with her spear. Nakela quickly let two throwing knives fly, while T-Bone fired several of the mini-turboblades from his glovatrix. All of the tendrils were severed and Sar landed easily back on her feet, glaring.

Ange narrowed her eyes while Viper took several steps back. They had gotten past his guardian way too easily. Slowly and deliberately, Sarita removed the blood-soaked gloves from her hands. The silver claw sheaths would be pointless against these vampires, ghouls, and mutations. Her own powerful claws would do far more damage to them. Tossing the gloves aside, she adjusted her grip on the blade, smiling darkly.

"Is that the best you can do, Mason?"

Bahati closed her eyes, and her right hand, not holding the spear, began to gain a soft greenish glow. T-Bone stepped forward, his glovatrix aimed at the Master vampire. Nakela also moved forward, holding her hunting knife. Mason glared coldly at the four, then smirked again.

"Do you _really _wish to join your friend, the raven? Sarita, remember what I did to you after I killed you the first time? Come, see my handiwork."

She motioned with her hand to the opposite corner. Bahati couldn't see it, and she wasn't even paying attention anyway. She was too focused on the powerful Gift she was conjuring forth. The other three glanced to where the vampire had pointed, and stared at the grisly sight in shock. Nakela and T-Bone both felt as if they were going to vomit at the horrid sight. Sarita however, was angered even more. She felt the rage boiling within her soul, but fought to hold it in check. After Angelida had skinned her, she took Sar's hide, jaws, and feet... and mounted them! Sarita and Sawgrass' taxidermied forms stood on a base of red wood, Sar's chatro form snarling viciously in it's false death as she did in life. She turned slowly back toward the vampire again.

"No, Mason. This time, it will be _your _skin that's ripped off! But, unlike me, you _won't _be able to return from what I am going to do to you!"

"Heh. We'll see about that, bitch-cat. Attack, my pets! Destroy them all!"


	46. Chapter 46

At their Master's command, the ghouls and other two vampires attack the four shifters. Viper likewise commands his plantimals to attack. T-Bone fires the last of the mini-turboblades, killing two of the giant rats with them. He also manages to get a shot in with the mini-tarpedo, hitting three of the strange yellow creatures and preventing them from moving from the sticky black sludge. Bahati stands back, still concentrating on her spell, as Nakela and Sarita begin hand to claw battle against the ghouls and vampires. The ghouls were weaker and hadn't learned to fully utilize the vitae yet. Nakela managed to seriously wound one with the first attack of her knife. Her human form may have been small, but she was also extremely athletic and very skilled in the use of her weapon. T-Bone couldn't help noticing that her fighting ability was similar to a certain kat he knew. He also really hoped that they would be able to redeem that kat when all of this was said and done.

The pair of fledgling vampire both went straight for the Hellcat, and she was forced to also engage two of the ghouls to keep them away from her daughter. One of the ghouls didn't even pay enough attention to the jaguar as he went for the albino, that Sar's claws caught him across the back, hooking into his flesh and jerking off his feet. The ghouled kat screamed as the were-jaguar gripped tightly into his flesh, then brought her blade hard across his throat, silencing him permanently. She then tossed the body at the other kats, but the closer vampire simply batted the corpse away like nothing.

Bahati finally finished her 'spell', and slumped back against the wall, severely weakened. The mutated rats and plantimals all suddenly stopped their attack, milling around in confusion. The timing couldn't have been any better as T-Bone had now run out of all the weapons on his glovatrix. All that was left was the grappling hook and the shield. Something tugged at the back of Sarita's mind as her sixth sense that always seemed to alert her to dangers caused her to jerk her head around suddenly. She looked at the master vampire just in time to see Ange line up her sights on the rifle. The crinos were-jaguar jumped back, away from the younger vampires, and right into the large bullet from the assault rifle.

"SARITA!"

Nakela screamed as she saw the inch-long silver bullet slam hard into Sarita's chest. She had taken the full impact of the hit, rather than let it hit Ange's intended target, Bahati. Even the ghouls and fledglings backed up, surprised at what just happened. Everything seemed to have come to a stand-still. Even Angelida couldn't believe it, but a cruel smile formed on her feline face. The smile vanished when Sar looked up and grinned, reaching behind her. She hissed in pain as her claws dug into her own flesh, pulling out the bullet from where it had lodged in between her back ribs. The vampire shook her head in disbelief as the large wound closed before her eyes. Sarita grinned darkly.

"In all these years we've been enemies, studying each other's moves and tactics, you never even figured it out?"

Ange glared hatefully at the werecat. There was no possible way she could ignore the bullet. It was pure silver, and should have damned near killed the creature.

"Figured _what _out, exactly?"

The werecat held the bloody bullet in between her sharp claws.

"That I have a _very _rare ability. By the grace of Seline, silver has no effect on me..."

Ange's jaw dropped, and she stared in disbelief. How did she never see it? Many times before she had seen the jaguar shot with silver bullets, and every time she somehow survived. All were-beasts, save the sun-favored ravens, were extremely vulnerable to silver. And yet, this Hellcat was not. Angelida had even shot her at point blank in the head with a silver bullet, and still the were-cat survived. She had killed her with the silver machete, and skinned her. Yet she stood before her now, fully alive.

"Is there nothing that can kill you?"

"Nothing that you can conjure up, Asura!"

She lept for the nearest of the two fledgling vampires, catching her off-guard. The female vampire didn't even have time to scream as the Balam's claws tore into her, ripping bone and flesh alike. The two remaining ghouls and male vampire both backed up in terror at the monster before them. T-Bone and Nakela both took the opportunity and attacked the ghouls. T-Bone brought his fist forward hard, breaking the first ghoul's nose and throwing him to the ground. The remaining ghoul tried to run from the human, but a throwing knife caught her between the shoulder blades and she screamed. Her escape slowed, the human quickly caught up to her and grabbed the she-kat around her shoulders, bringing the large hunting knife across her throat. T-Bone didn't have any blades, and he really didn't want to kill anyway. Still, he made damn sure that the male ghouled kat was completely unconscious and wouldn't be able to get up anytime soon even if he did somehow wake back up.

Bahati was beginning to regain her senses, and slowly took control away from Viper of his creations. The beasts turned on their maker, as well as Angelida. Dark Kat had disappeared. Or so they thought. As Ange and Viper quickly dispatched their own mutations, the large purple kat came seemingly out of no-where and grabbed Nakela around the neck. With his other hand, he grabbed one of the throwing knives from her belt, and stabbed her with it in the gut. Nak screamed out in pain, but her voice was soft as she was quickly loosing consciousness from lack of air. T-Bone ran quickly toward the powerful omega.

"Let her go, Dark Crud!"

"Gladly!"

He tossed the now unconscious woman aside with incredible force. Nakela hit the stone well and fell in a heap to the ground, unmoving. Sar turned back to face Angelida, who is using her Barretta to dispatch the remaining mutated rats. As the jaguar lunged, the vampire brings her gun up and fires again. Ignoring the bullet since it can't actually damage her, the jaguar shifts to chatro form in mid-air. Unfortunately, the bullet wasn't aimed at her. Bahati never saw the shot even though she heard it. Still, she had no chance to avoid the shot of silver as it his her squarely in the chest. Already weakened from the strong Gift, the force of the silver bullet threw her backward. Two more bullets hit her, and she slumped to the ground, unmoving.

Sarita skidded to a stop at seeing Ange's cold smile. Looking behind her, she stared in disbelief as her daughter fell to the ground, the white fur of her chest turning red from the three bullet wounds, all of them centered over her lungs, and one shot even over the heart itself. The resulting roar of fury from the Hellcat forced everyone who was neither unconscious nor dead to cover their ears in pain.

Viper had just hit the last of his own plantimals away with his powerful reptilian tail when the deafening roar caused him to cringe, his hands clapped firmly over his ears. He looked up just in time to see the half-ton blood-soaked saber-tooth lunge forward. Her intended target was Angelida, but the vampire managed to leap aside at the last moment. Viper tried to run, but a massive paw hit him hard, the claws tearing four deep gashes in his back. The white lab coat tuned a deep reddish purple from his reptilian blood. He then yelled out in surprise and pain as the two-foot fangs sank deep into his thick tail. With a powerful swing of her massive head, the were-jaguar flung the kat-snake across the room, tearing a massive chunk out of his tail in the process. Sarita glared with a cold predatory look in her deep blue eyes at the reptilian kat, stalking toward him again, when her ears pricked at another sound, causing her to jerk her head around.

Dark Kat had used the distraction of Sarita's roar to make a quick first attack on the burly SWAT Kat. His large fist connected hard to T-Bone's jaw, throwing him onto his back on the ground. He quickly recovered though, and rolled out of the way as the huge omega stabbed at him with his blade-tipped cane. Dark Kat slashed again, this time moving with more speed that he seemed capable of. Before T-Bone could get to his feet and jump back out of the way again, the blade-tipped cane caught him across the leg, cutting a shallow but painful wound.

T-Bone hissed in pain at the wound on his leg, but he quickly lunged forward, his fist catching the larger kat in the chest and causing him to stumble backward. Bringing his first forward again for another hit, he was surprised as Dark Kat quickly brought his own hand up, catching the tabby's fist in mid swing. Dark Kat grinned, and began to squeeze his grip. T-Bone yelled out as he could feel the bones in his hand beginning to be crushed by the purple kat's powerful grip. Dark Kat smiled wickedly, now finally exposing the long fangs as his eyes took on a red glow. T-Bone looked up in shock. Dark Kat was now a vampire!

"Foolish SWAT Kat! Did you truly believe you stood any chance against such power as this?"

Holding his crushing grip on T-Bone's fist, he dropped the cane, then reached down and grabbed T-Bone's wounded leg with his other hand, picking the tabby up and holding him over his head. T-Bone tried to struggle, but the undead omega's grasp was like steel. He then threw the burly SWAT Kat hard against the nearby wall. The breath was knocked from T-Bone's lungs as he hit, and he then fell to the ground, coughing and partially stunned. Before he could catch his breath and get back to his feet, the large vampire walked up to him and kicked him hard in the chest. He yelled out again as he both heard and felt at least one, possibly more, of his ribs break.

Dark Kat reached down and grasped the tabby around his throat, lifting him up in the air with one hand. T-Bone's feet dangled several feet from the ground and the large vampire grinned wickedly at him. He constricted his grip, cutting off the air to the burly kat's lungs as he attempted to crush his spine.

"Time to join your partner in Hell!"

A powerful force slammed into the back of the large purple-furred omega, throwing him forward and causing him to loose his grip on the kat. A pair of two-foot fangs tore into Dark Kat's shoulders, jerking him back hard away from the barely conscious SWAT Kat, and throwing him forcefully half-way across the large room. Dark Kat crashed into the taxidermied form of the beast that had attacked him, destroying both it and the raven atop it.

Sarita stood protectively in front of T-Bone, snarling viciously, a look of madness in her dark eyes. Her lover, mate, and daughter were now all down, and she didn't even know whether Nakela to Bahati were even still alive. Nor did she know what had become of her sons, or the she-kat and werewolf. For all Sarita knew, she was the last of her pride still able to fight. Once before she had been a member of a pride of six, all Bastets. A Taklah. Ange had killed her brothers and sister. She was the only survivor, and she had vowed revenge. Now it was happening again, and Cahlash take her soul if she would let the bloody memory repeat itself.

The were-jaguar's body trembled with rage, and her fur bristled with hatred and anger. She could feel the rage boiling up inside of her. She had fought the entire time to hold it in check, but she was the last of her pride left standing against the dark creatures of the Unmaker. Now she stopped fighting. She allowed the raw primal force to well up from the depths of her soul, to consume her very being.

Sarita charged the larger vampire, but he managed to move aside just in time to avoid her powerful jaws as she slammed hard, head-first, into the stone wall. Turning, the powerful omega gripped the large feline around the neck as the smaller Angelida ran forward, jamming her silver machete deep into Sarita's shoulders. The jaguar roared out in pain and reared with all her power. She threw the two vampires off of her, but fell over, landing hard on her back and driving the blade deeper into her shoulder blades. She screamed out as she felt the tendons cut and she lost feeling in the left fore-leg.

Ignoring the burning pain, she rolled over, snarling viciously. Her left fore-leg now dragged uselessly as the muscle and nerves had been severed, but it didn't seem to effect her at all. She was born with that limb having been paralyzed, and had spent far more years of it being useless than being able to actually use it normally at all. The jaguar lunged again. Ange lept aside as she willed her body to change. Concentrating the vitae inside her, she willed her fingernails to change. In a splatter of blood, long sharp claws burst through the flesh of her fingertips. As the jaguar landed, she slashed the strong claws against Sarita's shoulders.

Dark Kat, not having the ability to alter himself yet in the same manner, brought his strong first forward, slamming hard into the side of the jaguar's head. Sarita took a step back from the blow, but lunged forward again, her powerful jaws snapping shut on the larger vampire's arm. Dark Kat could feel the bone being crushed in her powerful grasp. Angelida brought her claws forward, and tore four deep gashes across Sarita's right eye. She roared out in pain, releasing her grip on Dark Kat, as she felt the delicate membrane over the eye rip beneath the leech's claws. Sarita spun around, her own claws tearing into the kevlar armor of the female vampire. Each keeping just out range of the Hellcat's powerful jaws, the two vampires worked to wear her down with their own attacks of claws and fists. Sarita's rage was fierce, but her body was weakening. However, so were the vampires.

The Hellcat, despite her useless left fore-leg, surged forward, bringing her upper body off the ground to deliver a powerful swipe at the female vampire, throwing her across the room. But without her other fore-leg to catch her, she fell to the ground, twisted into her right side. Before she could get back up, Dark Kat grabbed a hold of the hilt of the machete where it stuck out from her blood-soaked fur. As he twisted it, she roared out in intense pain as the blade cut deeper into her muscle and grinded against the bone. He then sank his own long fangs deep into her neck, piecing the thick flesh to the veins below. Sarita screamed out as she fought to pull away, but she was unable to get her good leg beneath her to get up, and the _Kiss _began to take it's effect on the huge feline as Dark Kat began to drink her potent blood.

Standing up, Ange looked on as her fledgling managed a firm grip in the werecat, then began to subdue her by draining her blood. She realized that she too was low on blood. The more experienced vampire knew well the dangers of feeding on shifter blood, so she chose a 'safer' target. T-Bone was just beginning to regain consciousness when the small leech jerked him up by the collar of his flight suit. He yelled out as he felt Ange sink her fangs deep into his neck, tearing far more flesh than Callie had. He tried to struggle, but he was in too much pain, and she was far too strong.

Bahati groaned, her white eyes clenched shut in agony as the three silver bullets burned inside of her. She coughed, spitting out blood from her punctured lung. She knew that she couldn't heal the wounds naturally, and even if she used her Gift to heal herself, the bullets could still kill her if they weren't removed first. There was no time for that. She had to help her mother and the kat. Gritting her teeth in pain, she slowly moved a clawed hand down to the red pouch at her right hip. Reaching into the bag, she pulled out the dagger-shaped bundle.

Her keen ears twitched, picking up every sound around her. The vampire didn't breath, but she knew where she was because she could hear T-Bone as the vampire fed on him. Summoning every ounce of her remaining strength, the metis werecat threw the shard. The cloth fell away in the air and the dagger-shaped Shard of Helios landed on the ground a few feet from Angelida and T-Bone. The vampire released her victim and screamed out in intense pain as the pure sunlight began to burn her flesh. She released the kat and ran quickly out of the cube of fierce light. Dark Kat also released his hold on Sarita, hissing and backing away from the burning sunlight.

Dark Kat felt the strength of the shifter's blood course through him, and he began to approach her again when he realized the sunlight wasn't strong enough to reach the Hellcat. The surge of rage subsided as the power of the vampiric _Kiss _pushed it back, and now Sarita was in control of herself again. She was very weak from bloodloss, and could barely move. She used one of her final resorts, enacting the Gift that could either save her life, or end it. The pain was pushed away from the effects of the cat-magic, and she slowly got to her feet again, glaring hatefully at the vampire that approached her. Dark Kat slowed his advance, seeing the dying creature suddenly stand back up again on her three remaining legs. Sarita summoned the power of the dark Unmaker, and opened her jaws wide. The roar was deafening, and the shock wave it sent shattered chunks of stone out of the wall as the Fist of Cahlash threw the large vampire back several yards.

Dark Kat groaned as he slowly stood back up. He snarled at the beast, but the snarl quickly vanished. She had seemed to grow even larger, a dark fur burning in her fur, and a fierce glow like Hellfire in her eyes. The aura of fear that she emitted gripped him, forcing him to step back away from the vicious monster. Sarita roared out again. Dark Kat turned, and saw the trail of purplish blood where the wounded snake-kat had fled earlier.

"To Hell with this! The bitch never said anything about facing a Demon!"

The evil kat wasn't about to throw away his life, or unlife now, against a creature that seemingly just could _not _be killed. He turned and fled. Sarita turned her dreadful gaze to Angelida. The vampire hissed as she backed up away from the monster. Sarita stood between the vampire and the only exit to her lair. It now appeared as if Ange's safe haven would become her tomb. The unnatural fear, the last of Sarita's Gifts now that her gnosis was almost gone, the rage subsided from her soul, took it's grip on the vampire as she backed away from the blood-soaked beast. Sarita limped slowly forward, her dead leg dragging uselessly along.

He was very weak from exertion and blood-loss, but T-Bone was still alive. And he still wasn't going to let that blood-sucker get away with everything she'd done. Slowly, painfully, using the wall as leverage, he forced himself to his feet. Once he and Nakela had discovered Callie missing, he had retrieved the Fleshbiter arrow. Leaning against the wall, he pulled the small arrow from where he had it hidden, and kept a firm grip on it. Ange didn't even seem to notice him, but Sarita shifted her movement, driving the vampire back toward him. Only too late did Ange sense the trap. T-Bone lunged forward, and stabbed the spirit-bound arrow at the vampire. It pierced right through her kevlar, tearing through her flesh. She screamed out in pain, and backhanded the kat back against the wall.

Sarita lept forward, her claws and fangs tearing into the distracted vampire. Angelida's screams echoed throughout the labyrinth of tunnels as the jaguar tore her apart. Even the kevlar couldn't protect her as Sarita bit down hard, her powerful jaws crushing the vampire's head, then ripping it from the neck. T-Bone collapsed back onto the floor. He had lost far too much blood to the vampire. He watched, his vision blurry, as his lover finally ended the vampire master's unlife.

"It's finally over..."

Closing his eyes, the darkness took over him as the powerful were-cat, her own energy now fully spent, finally succumbed to her own wounds and collapsed down a few feet beside him. Silence filled the tunnels.


	47. Chapter 47

In her large Archid form, Nakela made her way calmly through the Umbra. She had already left the city behind and was now traveling deep into the mountains, toward the ancient pyramid outside the Katchu Pichu ruins. The dragon thought back to the events of the previous night. By the grace of Gaia, all eight of their pride had managed to survive the fearsome battle against the vampire and her forces of darkness. But only barely.

Akin-Cúrri, the older and stronger of Sarita's two adopted sons, now suffered a slight but permanent limp in his natural felis form due to the extensive damage the Bane had done to his shoulder that no amount of magic could heal. Likewise had Sarita's shoulder been mangled from the silver machete that had remained imbedded within her flesh and bone for too long. Once she had regained consciousness, Nakela had managed to remove the silver bullets from Akis-Bahati so that she could heal herself, then T-Bone. The kat had suffered extreme blood loss at the hands, or rather fangs, of Angelida. He had slipped into a coma because of it, but thankfully was one of those who suffered no permanent damage from his injuries. Sarah had also suffered damage, but was lucky that her own wounds were not deep. The scars left by the silver knives of the vampires left light scars across her body, but fortunately they weren't bad enough to cause her further problems. The same was true of the wound on Felina's leg left by the Bane. It would leave a permanent scar, but did not hinder the tough she-kat in any way. Ironically, the younger and more reckless of Sarita's sons received the least amount of injuries, save for Nakela herself. The knife wound in her gut had been painful, but thankfully wasn't caused by silver or gold, and she was able to rapidly heal it as soon as she shifted forms.

As the dragon approached the entrance to the subterranean pyramid, she was forced to shift back down to homid form to enter the tunnel Though the pyramid had once been above ground, it had been sunk into the earth for so long that even in the Umbra it was completely sealed off except for the narrow crack in the stone mountain-side. Upon reaching the cavern, she entered the pyramid itself, looking around at the vast number of ancient spirits that called the sacred site home.

Unlike the Garou and Bastet, she could not rely on reflections to take her through the Gauntlet. Mokole had another method. As she entered the pyramid, she made her way down to where the underground river broke the surface, welling up to form a pool of clear water. Nakela dove into the cold water, passing easily through from the relm of the spirits, back into the physical world. As she surfaced again, she wrung out her long dark hair and wiped the water from her arms, legs, and torso. Fortunately the weather was warm, even though the water itself was cold.

Nakela shifted back up to her Archid form, and shook again, ruffling her bright green and red plumage. Feathers and scales could dry much faster than hair and denim clothing. She would need the form anyway in a few minutes. Moving back through the large corridor of the pyramid, she turned through a tall door, easily high and wide enough to allow for the fifteen-foot tall dragon. She stopped in entrance, and looked over at the slim ginger-furred kat that was chained there.

"Jake?"

He looked up slowly, and Nakela could see the pain in his eyes. The spirit that she so admired in the lithe kat was now gone. He was broken. She knew that he was still ghouled, and would remain so for some time until the vampire's blood had fully burned out of his system. But the vampire was dead and that meant that the thrall she held on him should have been broken as well. Moving slowly, Nakela held her large reptilian head down at eye level with the kat.

"Jake? How are you feeling?"

He looked down sadly. He couldn't face the powerful yet compassionate dragon. Not after everything he had done. When he spoke, his voice was weak and soft, reflecting his broken spirit.

"You were right, Nakela. I don't... I think Ange's control over me is gone. I'm guessing you guys finally killed her."

"Yes, we did. And Stephen and Darian as well. Many of us are badly wounded though, but we all survived. But Chigger escaped, as did some of her fledgling vampires."

"So then.. this still isn't over..."

"We have won a great battle, but the war shall continue until every one of them is destroyed."

"And what will happen now? What do you plan on doing with me?"

The dragon smiled lightly, then stood back to her full height. The chains were too high for her to each in her homid form, but in Archid she was easily able to remove them. Once the chains were loosened, Jake released his sore wrists from them, rubbing the slight bruises as he slumped down to the ground, leaning against the stone wall. Nakela tossed the chains aside and shifted back to homid, sitting down beside him.

"You're free of Angelida's influence now. Once her blood has left your system, though that may take time, Sarita shall continue with the original plan and perform a Cleansing Rite on you. You'll finally be back to your old self again, Jake."

He just shook his head slowly.

"No. I won't. After everything I did... how could things possible go back to the way they were? I tried to kill all of you. I _shot _Chance. Tried to kill my closest friend... I'm sure he hates me now."

Nakela put a gentle arm around the kat's shoulders. Jake cringed under her soft touch, but didn't try to pull away.

"No, he doesn't. He understands that it was from the vampire's control over you. He's actually worried about you. He wanted to come here himself, but is in too poor a shape to do so."

Jake looked up sharply, concern showing in both his eyes and his voice.

"'To poor a shape'..? What happened?"

"Angelida bit him. She drained a lot of his blood before she could be stopped. Put him into a coma and almost killed him. Bahati managed to heal him though, once she healed herself first, and he's fine. He's still weak from the severe loss of blood, but he'll get his strength back in a few days."

"And the others?"

"Sarita and Akin both took the worst of the injuries. Both are mildly crippled now, but Sarita is used to it and it doesn't seem to be bothering her much. Akin's still young, and he'll get used to working around the injury."

"Which one's Akin? I've only really 'met' the white one, Bahati."

She gave a soft chuckle. Of course he wouldn't have known the Shadowed Hearts and the werewolf.

"Akin-Cúrri is the older of Sarita's two sons. He's the larger one with the redder coat. Tommy is the younger and more brownish one."

Jake's jaw dropped.

"Her _sons_?"

"You...? Of course. You didn't know. Yes, Tommy and Akin are Sarita's adopted sons. She raised them both from a young age. Since Tommy was six and Akin only a few weeks old. He's felis-born so he aged much faster, making him older even though Tommy was born first. Akis-Bahati is Sarita's daughter by birth. Her father was a were-tiger, so she is a half-breed, which is the reason for her strange markings. Her color is due to her being albino."

"I... thought you said that she couldn't have kittens?"

"Metis are all born sterile. Bahati is. As was Sarita, but a powerful Spirit cured both her sterility, and her birth deformity. It's ironic, but she was born with her left arm paralyzed, and now it's been crippled again."

Jake closed his eyes. He shivered at the thought of everything the Hellcat had been through.

"One thing I still don't understand. Ange _killed _Sarita. I was there. I watched the vampire skin her. I saw... Nak, I _saw _what she did with the pelt! How... how can she still be alive? _Is _she still alive?"

She nodded slowly.

"Yes. Even I did not know about this, but apparently the werecats have a sacred ritual known as the Rite of Nine Lives. It is very rare and dangerous to perform. Those rare few who even succeed usually wish they didn't. Sarita's spirit returned to her body, but it was still as Angelida had left it. She had to suffer for over a week while her body slowly regenerated itself. The pain was so unbearable that she wished she had remained dead. And it... it changed her. She's a lot colder now. More vicious. Be glad you didn't see what she had done to Stephen and Darian. Chance and I both were quite sick from the horrid sight, and I have seen quite a lot, believe me."

"What did she do to them?"

"Trust me, Jake. You _really _do not need to know that. But what she did to you was _nothing _in comparison."

"I'll take your word for that. So, what happens now?"

"_Now_, we take you back. The battle is over, but there is still much that needs to be done."

They both looked up sharply at the new voice. Standing in the doorway was the white crinos Bastet. After Sarita had tortured him to learn the location of Angelida's haven, the albino were-cat had fully healed his wounds, then taken him to this place far away from the battle. They had feared the possibility of Angelida learning that the entire pride had left the Den Relm, and would have sent Stephen or Chigger to kill him. Jake was grateful for what Bahati had done, and even in her powerful war-form she still had a calming presence.

"I... I don't know if I can face them again. Not after.."

"You're going back. Don't make it be forcefully, Jake. For too long you've been under the vampire's control. You need to see what she was really capable of. And sooner or later, you _will _have to face Chance again, now knowing everything that you've done."

Nakela stood up and held out her hand to Jake. He tentatively took her hand and she helped him back to his feet. Nakela then remembered something, and a faint smile formed on her face.

"First though, there is something you should know. About myself, Sarita and Chance..."


	48. Chapter 48

Jake was surprised to find that it was only late morning. The familiar sounds and smells of the rainforest surrounded him. Unlike the dull gray of the rest of the Umbra, the Den Relm was full of color and life, even if most of that life were spirits themselves, not knowing that they weren't even actual living creatures. Nakela had returned to her homid form upon crossing back into the Den Relm, while Bahati was in her felis form. Jake could now certainly believe that the albino was half tiger. Her feline form was larger and somewhat leaner than the other jaguars.

Bahati went up the spiraling stairs first, quickly outpacing the kat and the human. When Jake reached the platform thirty feet up into the tree, Nakela right behind him, he was somewhat relieved to see that everyone appeared to be asleep in the den. But he then realized exactly how bad they were. None of the wounds had been fully healed.

Sarita was in her powerful chatro form, her fur still stained a deep red from the drying blood. Chance was asleep next to her, and Jake was relieved that he didn't appear to be very badly injured, other than the light bandages on his neck. Nearby, the larger male jaguar had a very large bloody gash in his shoulder that had been heavily bandaged. He lay on his side, off of the deep wound, and his own fur was stained with a thick black ooze. Jake was surprised to see that Felina was laying next to the large cat, but her right leg was also bandaged, showing that she too had been injured in the battle against the vampire and her minions. Toward the back of the den were the last two shifters, both in their animal forms. The brownish jaguar had the least amount of wounds, just a few small patches where the silver bullets had already been removed. The red hound-like wolf beside him had slash marks across her sides, shoulders, forelegs and paws.

Jake shook his head. Bahati had obviously healed any wounds she had herself, and Nakela claimed that hers had already healed naturally. But the others were all still in bad shape, some more than others, and would be for several days at the least.

"I don't believe this... And it's my fault."

He spoke softly, not wanting to wake the others. Tommy though wasn't fully asleep. He lifted his head at hearing the kat's voice, and his ears flattened. A low rumbling growl resonated from the jaguar's throat, which quickly woke the wolf. Sarah lifted her head, then flattened her own ears and glared at Jake. She also began to snarl, her sharp fangs bared. They didn't know him, and obviously they certainly did blame him for what had happened. The loud growling began to wake the others, but a sudden sharp snarl from Bahati instantly silenced them. The albino may have been the youngest of everyone there, but she also had a strong amount of authority.

The loud snarl was enough to wake the rest of them. Jake tensed. He didn't know how Sarita would react to seeing him there. Or worse, Felina and Chance. The massive blood-soaked feline lifted her head slowly. Jake shivered and turned his eyes away from her gaze. He felt as if those deep ocean-blue eyes were staring straight through into his soul. In a way, they were, as Sarita watched his behavior and reactions to them, making her own decision as to whether or not the blood-bond was really broken.

Awakened by the sounds of the animal-form shifters, Felina finally opened her eyes.

"Wha.. Jake?"

Akin rolled his head to the side to get a better view of the kat, not even shifting his body due to the pain in his arm and shoulder. His ears were pinned flat and his green-gold eyes glared, but he gave no other reaction. Jake hesitantly looked up to meet Felina's gaze.

"Yeah. It's me. I... I'm sorry, Lieutenant. About everything."

Felina shook her head. After the shifters had explained about ghouling and the blood-bond, she didn't blame him, even if some of them did.

"Jake, please. First off, just call me 'Felina'. Second, none of this was your fault. It was that damned vampire who caused all of it. She's even the one who had Miss Briggs lure you into her trap in the first place."

This caught him as a complete shock.

"What? Callie was ghouled too? But.. how do you..."

__

You didn't know? She was ghouled before you were. Callie was already blood-bound when she lured you down into the subway to 'rescue' her. It was all a trick. And now... She's a vampire as well.

Jake was stunned. He didn't even realize at first that his answer came in his mind from Sarita, and not aloud. He never knew that Ange had even ghouled Callie. The news that the vampire had also turned her was yet another painful blow on top of everything else.

"I... I just can't believe it... But, if she's... did you...?"

The massive feline shook her head.

__

No. Chance and Nakela stopped her, but then they had to go after Chigger. He escaped, and she vanished. They're both still out there somewhere.

Jake actually staggered back from the shock of it. Nakela had to grab his shoulders to steady him before he fell back toward the edge of the platform. The bronze-skinned woman looked onto her friend with concern.

"Jake? Are you okay?"

"I.. I never knew."

Only then did he realize that there was still one among the group who hadn't woken up. He looked over at the tabby kat with concern.

"Umm... how's Chance?"

To his surprise, it wasn't Felina, Sarita, or Nakela who answered. Bahati was still in her feline form, but she _spoke_. Not mentally, but out loud so that all could hear and understand her.

"He was badly drained by the vampire. I healed him as best I could as weak as I was. If I hadn't done so, he would have died soon after. He'll be okay, but it will be some time for him to recover. I doubt he'll even wake up for at least several more hours, if even today at all."

The felis-form tiguar's talking came as a shock to Felina as well, and even Nakela and the wolf were taken aback by it. Sarita and the other two Balam though didn't even seem to notice. After a moment, Jake spoke up again, softly. His words this time, were directed at Sarita.

"Now that Angelida's dead... what will happen now? I know it will take some time for most of you to heal, but then what?"

Her ears flicked back and she narrowed her eyes. She spoke, but in the were-cat's language of Khuear. Jake, Felina, and even Sarah look at her in confusion, until Nakela translated.

"She says that at dawn tomorrow, there must first be a Cleansing Rite. Akin and Felina have both been tainted by the Asura, the evil spirit they fought. The beast's blood has already begun it's process of corruption."

Felina visibly paled. Akin had mentioned the same thing the during the previous night's battle, but to hear it stated as fact by the others as well actually frightened her. Akin's expression didn't change, because he already knew of what needed to be done. The Asura's blood had seeped deep into his wound, and they couldn't clean it all off with simple water earlier, though they had tried. Nakela then continued her translation.

"It will be at least two more days for most of us to be at least somewhat healed, and for her to have the power to heal those who cannot do so on their own. After that, will the decision be made on what shall be done. There are at least two fledgling vampires in the city, and given Darian's activities, it is also possible that this world may see a new breed of Bete born within the next seven to nine months, assuming that kat gestation is the same as human. Chigger must not be allowed to find these kits first."

Jake knew too well what the shifters were talking about, and Felina figured it out almost immediately.

"Hold it, are you saying that the panther...?"

Jake nodded, and answered the Enforcer's question.

"Yes. I... I was there, a few times. And there was nothing I could do."

Nakela looked at the kat with a worried expression. Now wasn't yet the time, but she knew there was another Rite that needed to be performed soon. The mental and emotional trauma Jake was suffering now that he was free of the vampire's thrall was akin to, if not worse than, what Sarita suffered through when Darian had raped her. Physically he was fine. Emotionally, he would be scarred for life if something wasn't done.

Right now though, rest was what the pride of kats and shifters needed more than anything else. Nakela lead Jake to one of the other tree-dens. The ginger kat was very solemn and withdrawn as he lay quietly in the bowl-shaped bed formed of the living branches of the tree. Nak gently laid down beside him and put her arms around him. Jake cringed away from her touch, but she knew that what he needed most right now, whether he wanted it or not, was simply to know that he wasn't hated or blamed. That there were those who still cares for him. After a few moments, he finally relaxed, and soon fell asleep as the woman held him. Sarita was her lover, and she had even mated with Chance as well, but Nak found that she had strong feelings for the darker-furred kat. And everything that had happened, knowing that it was the vampire's control of him and not of his own will, seemed to make her care for him even more.

****

.

As the following morning drew near, the four Bastet and the Garou prepared themselves for the Rite. All five had shifted to their crinos forms, and finally managed to clean all of the Bane's blood from Akin's coat during the night. The remaining traces were removed from Felina's clothing as well. Chance had woken up briefly during the previous day, but by then Jake had fallen asleep and both Sar and Bahati advised it was best for him to wait to speak with the smaller kat until they both were feeling a bit better. Still weak from blood-loss, he was once again asleep, this time in Sarita's bed at the back of the tree-den, as the rest of the large group assembled further away for the ritual. Afraid of what might happen, Jake still asked if he could watch the Rite so that he would know what to expect if/when his time came. Sarita agreed.

As the sky began to lighten, the two kats and six shifters gathered around the circle of stones. Sarah was quite impressed with the set-up of the Balam. It was nothing like the Caern back home, and seemed to hold and even greater spiritual presence. The process had been explained to Felina, who was actually quite nervous of the whole idea. She had always been so straight-forward about things, and really had no care for magic of any sort. Now she was supposedly being 'changed' by an evil spirit, which Sarita's own magic confirmed to be true, and had to be 'cleansed' of it's taint. She had at first dismissed the whole thing as nonsense, but as the previous day and night wore on, she began to notice a change in Akin. The powerful jaguar's fur seemed to be growing slightly darker, as had his eyes. It was subtle at first, but soon even his own brother and sister began to keep their distance from him. The wound on his shoulder should have begun to heal, but the flesh was turning black beneath the bandages.

Nakela stood in her massive archid form, and the rest of the shifters in crinos. Jake stood back, well out of the way, as he watched on. Felina and Akin both went down to their knees in the center of the circle of stones. Sarita and Bahati both stood to the northern point of the circle in front of the stone monolith there. Nakela stood to the east, Tommy to the south, and Sarah to the west. Sarita had spent several hours that night meditating in silence under the waning moon. She said it was to refresh her gnosis in preparation for the ritual. Three objects were on the ground in front of the northern monolith. A clay bowl, a long stick, and a willow branch.

The Hellcat held a smoldering branch in her good hand, the flame glittering red off of her now clean golden fur. Kneeling down, she pushed back the pain as she forced her left arm to obey her enough to perform the ritual. The damage was mainly to her shoulder, but she could still at least use her hand. She simply couldn't move the arm itself very much. Waving her hand lightly over the bowl, she willed it to fill with clean, pure water. Carefully taking up the long stick, she stood again and walked toward the circle.

Sarita began to chant softly in Khuear as she walked slowly, counter-clockwise, around the circle. As she did, she drew a line in the dirt with the stick, forming another circle within the ring of stones. She made a full circuit, ending the circle at the northern point where it had begun. Setting down the stick, she then picked up the willow branch and dipped it in the water. The sky grew still lighter as Sarita continued the ritual, flicking the branch so that the pure water splattered lightly over the pair kneeled inside the circle. She continued this for several more minutes, until the first rays of light finally came over the horizon. As soon as the sun began it's rise, Sarita, Bahati, Nakela, Tommy and Sarah all roared/howled out loudly. The combined sound of the five shifters was terrifying, and it was all Felina could do to stay still. Jake however cringed back from the fearsome roaring.

Akin let out a deep sigh and partially fell forward, catching himself with the hand of his good arm. Felina too felt as if a heavy presence had been lifted from her. She slowly opened her eyes and glanced to the east, where the rising sun silhouetted the massive feathered dragon. Beside her, Akin groaned softly, but she could see an obvious difference in him. The flesh of his wound was no longer blackened, and his fur blazed a shimmering red in the morning sunlight.


	49. Chapter 49

"Oh come on, Nakela. Just try it!"

"It's not that simple!"

"If you can grow gills and fins to spend three hours under water talking to a pair of Rokea, then simply growing fur and a tail shouldn't be a problem."

"Says the jaguar who was born with them!"

There was a bit of stifled laughter from around the den. Jake wasn't sure though about what the shifters were talking about half the time, especially with their strange language.

"Okay, question. What exactly is a Rokea?"

Sarita glanced up from where she lay stretched out on the floor in her sokto form, her head resting on Chance's leg as he sat against the wall.

"Rokea are were-sharks."

"Were-_sharks_? There really is such a thing?"

He gave the Balam a curious look as she nodded her head yes. It was incredible at how many shape-shifting creatures existed on her home world. Sharks, spiders, coyotes, ravens, snakes, bears, rats, several different species of cats, more than ten different wolf tribes, and even the dragons could be of many various forms of crocodilians and monitor lizards. Even gila monsters.

The red-haired teenager, Sarah, taunted Nakela from where she sat near the crinos form of the younger jaguar brother.

"Come on, Nak! I thought you Midnight Suns were supposed to be like us Ragabash? Since when are you afraid of a little embarrassment?"

"Hey, when it comes to pulling pranks, the point is to put someone _else _in the spotlight!"

This brought out another round of soft laughter. The human woman stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at the rest of the group in the den. It was late at night, and they were all relaxing before finally going to sleep. All of the shifters had fully healed their wounds by now, and even Sarita and Akin both had partial use of their damaged arms. Sarita's wound had caused severe damage to the shoulder blade, which meant she no longer had full motion of that shoulder, even though she could still use her arm and hand normally.

Akin's wound however was far more severe, and since it was caused by an Asura, there was a possibility that it would never fully heal. Despite the rest of his injuries being fully healed, his badly damaged left shoulder continued to cause him pain every time he moved it, and in both feline and chatro forms, he had to walk with a severe limp, barely putting pressure on it. This had made the young warrior, a Guardian among his pride, very depressed as he felt he could no longer continue to protect his brother and sister, or their rainforest home. In fact, he was the only shifter not present in the den, as he had spent much more time alone since the Cleansing Rite almost ten days ago.

Felina also was not there. Akis-Bahati had managed to fully heal the she-kat's wounded leg, though she would always have a slight scar. Only a few days after the death of the vampire, the doctors at Megakat Hospital were shocked to find that Commander Feral had not only awoken from his coma, but his injuries which were so life-threatening, had seemed to have mostly healed overnight! No-one could explain it, save for a very grateful Felina and the reclusive white were-cat. Within only two days Feral had straightened out the entire mess over Felina and T-Bone having been accused of murdering the chopper pilot. Steele, under Angelida's influence, had covered up the actual evidence reports, and the large-caliber silver bullet was obviously like nothing anyone on the force had ever seen. It was even taken to a ballistics expert who couldn't identify it, or explain why it was made of pure silver.

After having to explain, several times, about the vampires and were-beasts that now lived in Megakat City to her uncle, as well as the secret war they had fought, Felina had convinced him not to further pursue the case. They would never find the real killer anyway, since the vampire had finally been destroyed. Also, nothing much could be done about Steele since he was under the vampire's control at the time as well.

As far as the SWAT Kats were concerned, Nakela and Bahati had finally convinced Jake to allow Nak to use the Rite known as Silence the Oracles. It was the same one she had performed on Sarita to help her get past her being raped. Jake at first had refused. He felt that it would probably be better for him to keep the guilt, feeling that he had earned it. To his shock, it was actually Chance to practically ordered him to go through with it.

Not only had the tabby forgiven him for everything he had done, but he didn't even blame him for it in the first place. Jake was sure that Chance would hate him for luring him into the trap that nearly got him and Nakela killed, and _did _cause the deaths of Sarita and Sawgrass. Jake had actually shot his best friend in cold blood, and then taunted him about it later. Chance did have a temper sometimes, but his concern for his partner, best friend, and 'brother' far outweighed any grudges he would have had. Hell, the tabby actually knew what it was like to attack others with no control over himself, courtesy of Dr. Viper a few years ago.

Once the ritual was complete, and Jake was now more at peace with his recent dark past, they had made the decision to once again become the SWAT Kats. With Hard Drive and Dr. Viper still loose, plus Dark Kat now being a vampire and more dangerous than every, they felt that they were still needed to help keep Megakat City safe. Felina had even offered to help them with rebuilding the Turbokat, again. In addition, the vampire's vitae was finally burned out of his system enough for Sarita to perform the Cleansing Rite on him. The memory of the past two months would always haunt him, but at least now he was fully capable of moving on.

For the rest of the shifters, Nakela and Sarita had already made the decision to stay in this new world. With Chigger still loose, at least two fledgling vampires, and the possibility of a new breed of Bastet soon, the pair of shifters had decided that it was not only their duty, but their destiny to take up guardianship of this world as their ancestors had done on their own. Akin, due to his injury, would have a difficult time making the trip back through the deep Umbra, and so it was decided he would stay as well. Bahati, Tommy, and Sarah would soon be leaving back for their home. The young Fianna werewolf had chosen to leave her pack and join forces with the Balam in the Amazon war against the evil corporation known as Pentex. It was widely believed by the Garou that the Amazon would be the location of the coming Apocalypse, the final battle between the forces of the Wyrm, and the shifters of Gaia. Sarita had performed a Rite the previous night that spiritually marked the wolf, so that all Bastet she would meet would know that, even though she was Garou, she was a trusted kin and ally to them.

Nakela glared at the kats and Bete as they continued to laugh softly. Jake smiled to the woman.

"Look, how bad could it possibly be? You turn into a fifty-foot long lizard with feathers all the time!"

She gave him a mock glare, but seeing that she was completely outnumbered, the homid sighed, and finally gave up.

"Okay, but if this botches, I swear you will _all _come to regret it soon!"

Concentrating on her connection with Gaia and the spirit world, Nakela enacted the Gift taught to her by the spirit, Finch. The small bird spirit was a master of adaptation, and the Mokole were the epitomy of adaptation and survival, having been the very first shifters long before the birth of the other changing breeds. At first, nothing seemed to happen. But then the others watched in amazement as a short, soft coat of fur began to cover her body, the same bronzish hue as her skin. Her facial features became slightly more feline, particularly her ears, and her spine lengthened to form a tail. Jake and Chance could both see that was fairly pretty for a human, but as a kat she was actually quite beautiful. Jake couldn't help but comment.

"Wow. Uh, Nakela, I think you should have learned to do that much sooner."

Sarita had to laugh.

"I agree!"

"Oh shut up! All of you!"

The homid-turned-kat glared at the others as they continued to laugh. Everyone was in good spirits finally, save for Akin who was asleep in his own tree-den nearby. Sarita worried for her son, but she knew that in time he would come to accept and cope with his disability, as she had done with hers from birth.

As the evening grew late, the rest of the pride finally began to disperse and go to sleep. Nakela decided to spend the rest of the night with Jake in one of the other tree-dens. Chance remained with Sarita in her central den. As he lay with his arm around his mate, there was something that kept bothering him which he finally decided need to be asked.

"Sar, you mentioned earlier that there could be more were-cats born, thanks to Darian. What will happen to them?"

Sarita opened her eyes, a thoughtful but sad look in their depths.

"I don't know. Being born of what we call the homid breed, if any of them do inherit the changing gene, they will take their first shift at around age fifteen. It will be up to me, Nak, and Akin to find them as soon as that happens, so that I can properly train them. I am what we call a Kuasha. I have the knowledge and skills needed to train a newly-turned Bastet. But my concern is that Chigger could find them first, possibly before they ever even change. If so, he will corrupt them like their father was."

"And the cycle could start all over again..."

"Yes. We will have to locate these kits quickly once they're born, but this city is _huge_. Far larger than any I have been to or even heard of back where I'm from. I have heard that the citys of Asia could be quite large, but we are all from the Americas, and even our largest citys weren't near the size as Megakat City."

He decided to change the subject, and kissed the back of her neck gently.

"But what about you? Nakela said that if you ever had kittens again, they would be born as felis?"

She laughed softly, knowing exactly where that question came from.

"Yes, my kits will be born as jaguars. And shall age the same way. Akin is felis. At two years old, he took his first change. From that point on, their homid form appears as normal fifteen-year old teenagers, and they begin to age at the same rate as homids. The same is true for metis. When I first shifted at eight, my homid form appeared twice my normal age, and I've aged at the same rate ever since. Should any of my kits inherit the changing gene, they will change at two, the jaguar equivalent of teenagers."

"Great."

With an amused smile, Sarita rolled over to face her mate.

"Worried?"

"Huh? Why would you think I'd be worried?"

"Chance, if I ever do have kits again, who do you think I'd want to have them with? Could you handle your children being born, not as kats, but as jaguars... As _animals_... Living and dying the same way, unless one should become a Bastet, and be a teenager by only two years of age?"

"Heh. Then I guess that's something I'll have to get used to, if I want to stay with you. I swear, there seems to be no end to the strangeness and surprises your kind."

She smiled softly then gently kissed him.

"You have no idea..."

****

.

Two nights later, and the time had finally come. In the sky above, the moon was just begining to wax again, showing a small sliver of light among the sea of stars. Six shifters and three kats had gathered at what had been called the 'Rite Stones'. Sarita knew that she would probably never see her son and daughter again, but in truth, she had never expected them to find her in this new world, so far away from her original home. As they prepared to leave, Bahati asked Chance to speak with her just out of earshot of the others, which was actually a fair distance due to her mother having such keen hearing.

"When I healed your arm, you asked if there was anything you could do to repay me. Well, there is."

He had been wondering if she would ever bring that up before she left, and he was fully prepared for whatever price she would ask.

"Name it."

"Take care of my mother. She has been alone for so long, and her quest for vengeance has slowly been eating away at her, heart and soul. What she needs now is the love that has been denied to her for so long."

Chance had to smile. That was something that she didn't even need to ask.

"Bahati, that is something I _can _promise you. Your mother is very special to me, and I love her."

She nodded, satisfied.

"Good. And thank you, Chance. For everything."

"And you. I don't know what would have happened to any of us if you and your brothers had not come."

The albino simply nodded, then returned to the rest of the pride. When she spoke again, her voice was louder, and with the air of a born leader.

"It is time. We are not of this world, though some of us have found a place in it. But not all of us are destined to stay here. There is a war upon our home that we must return to. The final days are coming, and we must prepare for the final battle, by not letting the evil that serves the dark Unmaker destroy that which has been our safety for as long as we Folk can remember."

Bahati stood in the center of the ring of stones, Tommy and Sarah both just behind her. The rest stood back, outside the ring at the outskirts of the four monoliths. The blind crinos Bastet raised her clawed hands up and they began to glow with a pure silver light. A swirling mist began to form, and through the mist formed a bridge of silver fog. Shifting to their animal forms, Tommy and Sarah quickly passed through the portal and began to run along the Moon-Bridge, going through into the deep Umbra. Bahati turned, and nodded her head to those she left behind. She too them changed to her felis form and entered the portal, the mist swirling and vanishing again behind her.

****

.

THE END,

__

for now

****

.

[I hope you have enjoyed this cross-over story. Whether you're a fan of SWAT Kats, the World of Darkness, or both, I have done my best to make this story entertaining on a variety of levels, and hope that it may be one of the best I have written. I have already come up with ideas for a sequel, though I doubt it could compare to this original. Thank you so much for reading and I would look forward to any questions, comments, or simple reviews to my work.]


	50. Epilogue

(6 months later...)

Her shift had ended slightly early tonight, so the female Enforcer decided to pay a visit to her strange friends. As she drove toward the Megakat City Park, Felina thought back on how she met the pair of shape-shifters. It had been a hard, bloody several weeks back then, but thankfully everything worked out in the end. Unfortunately, vampires now roamed the city, and she knew that there could be other things out there as well.

As she pulled into an empty parking lot a few blocks away from the park, Felina locked her car and walked off into the shadows of a nearby alley. Sarita had expanded her Den Realm to almost 28 square miles, mostly toward the south. It would still be a mile walk through the thick rainforest, but Felina now knew where the path was, even at night. Sarita had managed to bind three spirits and 'attune' them to Felina, Chance, and Jake so that they now could enter her Den Realm on their own. They still couldn't enter the Umbra as the shifters could, but that was just fine with them anyway. Felina placed a hand to her arm, where the tattoo was hidden beneath her Enforcer uniform. Jake had opted for the original fetish, a strange pendant Sar had ritually made and bound the spirit into, but Felina and Chance had both decided on the other option instead. Sarita called it a 'scar fetish', and she herself had two which she had made for different reasons.

As Felina concentrated on the spirit bound within the glyphs hidden in the jaguar-shaped tribal tattoo, she could feel herself starting to slip between the two realms. As she continued to walk, everything blurred around her as the bound spirit pulled her through the Gauntlet and into Sarita's Den Realm. The dark alleyway with it's brick walls melted into moonlight tropical rainforest. She hiked along the narrow trail until it finally opened into the large clearing not far from the lake which was both in the Den Realm and the physical world. Nakela already stood there in her human form waiting.

"Hey, Felina. You're getting a lot better at passing the Gauntlet."

"Yeah, but it's still not something you just get used to."

"No kidding. Took me a few years once I finally learned how to get over the dizziness of it."

"A few years?"

"Heh. Yeah, well that's passing straight through into the Umbra itself. You don't go that far, only part-way."

"Yeah. Anyway, where's Sarita?"

"Oh. Uh, she's in the den for now."

The she-kat noted the strange tone in the were-dragon's voice.

"Is something wrong? She okay?"

"Umm... Well, technically she's fine."

"But...? What's wrong?"

"That's actually kinda difficult to explain. Okay, keeping in mind that shifters are as much animals as people... well.. how much do you know about jaguars? The animals I mean."

She shrugged. "Not much, honestly."

"Well, they're most dangerous during mating season."

Felina couldn't hide the look of surprise on her face. Now she kinda knew what Nakela was talking about, but it was still a difficult concept to fully grasp.

"You mean she's...?"

"Well, Sarita's a metis, so she was born sterile. When the Spirit gave her the ability to have kits, She kinda over did it."

"Dangerous huh? Should I maybe come back later, then?"

Nakela laughed at the comment, the tone showing no actual worry or concern.

"Oh no. It's Chance I'd really be worried about stopping by anytime soon."

The dragon-changer gave a wry smile and Felina couldn't help a soft laugh as well.

"Yeah, I would guess that."

They walked together toward the five trees which held the dens hidden within their branches thirty feet above. Climbing the spiral staircase in the trunk of the massive central tree, Nakela reached the upper platform of branches just before Felina. Nak stepped aside as Felina reached the top of the stairs. The she-kat saw the powerful golden-furred jaguaress in her felis form laying at the edge of the platform, her tail hanging over the side and her head on her paws. Her ocean-blue eyes were slitted as they looked out over the jungle and she was breathing very heavily.

"You sure she's okay?"

"Oh yeah. Hey Sar! We got a visitor."

The jaguar opened her eyes a little more, glancing over toward the human and kat. She then slowly lifted her head. Felina got a chill from the strange look in the Balam's deep eyes. Sarita had always had an eerie presence to her, but this time she looked down-right frightening. Apparently Nakela was right. Even what seemed to be a blessing from the spirits, could also be a curse as well. Nothing in the Spirit World came without a price.

****

.

That next morning, Felina decided to go and visit the guys before work. The gate to the salvage yard was already open, even though the garage wasn't yet. She pulled up outside and knocked on the door. After a few moments, Jake opened it.

"Oh! Hey Lieutenant. Need something?"

"Not really. Just thought I'd drop by for a bit before heading to work. Got an early shift today."

"Oh, okay. Well, come in then, I guess."

The ginger kat stepped back so she could enter, then he closed the door behind her.

"Chance is down in the hanger. We're working a bit on the plans for the new missiles before opening the garage."

"You mean the ones for use against vampires? You sure they'll work?"

"I sure hope so. But it's slow going. Imitating pure sunlight isn't quite as easy as simply using UV radiation light bulbs."

He led her over to the hatch hidden in the break room that went down to the hanger below. They both climbed down the ladder and into the underground hangar. Chance looked up from where he had been adjusting a loose panel on the side of the Turbokat and waved to Felina as she came down. She nodded back.

"Hey Chance. Just came by to see how you two were doing. I stopped by the Den last night so see Sarita and Nakela."

"Really? How are they? I haven't been by in a couple days. Been thinking about going over tonight to see Sar."

She gave a soft laugh and leaned against the wall nearby, folding her arms over her chest as she did so.

"Umm.. you _might _want to reconsider that."

"What? Why?"

"Well... Let's just say the animalistic side of her is kinda out right now."

Both the male kats were a bit confused. Jake glanced up from the work table where he was pulling out the blueprints for the new missile.

"What are you talking about? It's not full moon again for at least another week?"

Now Felina really had to laugh. They hadn't a clue, and it was going to be quite the surprise.

"That's not what I'm talking about. Okay, how should I put this... Chance, you're jaguar girlfriend is in serious _Heat _right now."

The tabby was completely struck dumb from the comment. Jake however, burst out laughing, both at the way in which Felina had worded it, and at the look on his best friend's face. Chance then shot the smaller kat a cold glare.

"Hey, at least I'm not the one dating a stripper!"

Felina put a hand over her face in both embarrassment, and to stifle her own laughter. They all knew well that Nakela, now able to take the form of a kat, had chosen to take up her old 'profession' from her home world. It was still difficult to imagine the were-dragon as an exotic dancer, but the club in which she chose to apply was apparently the type frequented by vampires in her world, and she believed the same might hold true here.

The retort caused Jake to stop laughing, and return the glare to Chance as the tabby now had one his usual sarcastic smirks.

Felina shook her head with a smile.

"Laugh it up, Jake. Nak's been talking about wanting to have a kid soon too."

Now it's Chance's turn to laugh at Jake's shocked expression.

"She _WHAT_?"


End file.
